Now & Forever
by BrownCurls2305
Summary: "Do you have any idea what you've put me through?" Ally cried. "One minute, we're happy going to California together, and then you leave with no goodbye?" When Austin leaves to pursue his dreams without saying goodbye to Ally, how will she react when he returns after two years? Will he be able to win her back? Or has he lost her forever?
1. Flashbacks & Fights

"Austin, I can't just drop everything and move to California with you!" Ally cried exasperatedly.

"Why not?" Austin asked, equally frustrated. "It would be such an awesome opportunity for both of us! California, Als! This could be huge!"

This had to be at least the twentieth argument the pair had had in a month. It had all started ever since Austin had been offered that record deal in California. He'd been discovered on the internet only a month ago, singing 'A Billion Hits', a song written by his partner, Ally. Austin had jumped at the chance to sign with the record deal, and it was the perfect opportunity for him as well, considering his parents were divorced and his dad lived in California. He hadn't signed yet though – he refused to sign until Ally agreed to come with him. Hence, the reason they were arguing.

"Austin, I _can't _go. Even if I did go, where would I stay? What about Trish and Dez? And what about my dad, and the store? I could never leave all this behind," she protested. She was trying to come up with as many reasons as to why they shouldn't go, without revealing her true reason for rejecting the idea. But she was running out of reasons now. She'd been repeating herself for the last month, and she knew she was frustrating Austin as he raked a hand through his hair.

"Ally, you keep saying that!" he huffed. "I've already told you you'd be staying with me and my dad, and Trish and Dez can come with us too! Your dad and the store will be fine, you know that! Come on, it's not like I could do any of this without them. And there's no way I can do _any _of this without you; in fact, you're the reason I even have this record deal! You write the songs, I perform them, remember? Now and forever."

`_**Flashback – about four or five months ago**_

Ally sighed, flopping onto the sofa. "Austin, can we please take a break? I am never going to figure out these lyrics right now!"

The pair were up in the practise room writing a new song. It was nine o'clock in the evening, and Ally could already feel sleepiness setting in. The room was scattered with paper balls, instruments, pizza boxes and Chinese takeout boxes.

"Come on, Ally, I know we can do this," Austin said from the piano seat, not turning around but keeping his eyes fixed on the lyrics in front of him. So far, they had the chorus, but writing the lyrics for the verses was proving to be difficult. However, it was essential that they got this new song done before tomorrow, so they were pulling an all-nighter to get it done. There was a contest on the beach tomorrow afternoon, and Austin needed a new original song to perform.

This wasn't like Ally, though. Austin spun around on the seat when she didn't reply, and saw she was simply staring out the window, twirling a lock of hair around her finger absently.

"Als?" he questioned, getting up and sitting next to her. "What's wrong? Are you tired? You can sleep if you want; I'll carry on writing."

Ally eyed him doubtfully, saying nothing. They both knew he wouldn't be able to write lyrics without her. He was just being nice.

"Okay, maybe I won't carry on writing," he amended hastily.

"I'm not tired," she sighed. "I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Tell me," Austin said. "Maybe I can help."

"It's fine, Austin, don't worry about me," Ally assured him, standing up. "Let's just get back to writing that song."

"Hey," he gently curled his hand around her wrist and tugged her back down to the sofa. "You're not going to be able to focus until you get whatever it is off your mind. You can tell me anything, you know that."

Ally exhaled and leaned back against the sofa. "It's nothing major; I just got into a fight with Dallas, that's all," she shrugged. Ally gave him a small, tired smile before resting her head on his shoulder. The movement sent sparks tingling up Austin's spine, which he decided to ignore with confusion. Stop being a little girl, he scolded himself. This is Ally.

"What did you and Dallas fight about?" he asked tentatively. Dallas and Ally had started dating a few weeks ago. Austin had been genuinely happy for Ally at the time - she had been crushing on him since forever, and dating him had made her so happy. Austin loved seeing her happy. However, whenever they fought, it tore Ally's heart just a little every time, and it was Austin who was there to comfort her.

Ally removed her head from Austin's shoulder, before shaking it. "Nothing," she mumbled. "It's nothing."

Since when did Ally keep secrets from him? She always told Austin about their fights – why should this time be any different?

"Ally, what did you fight about?" Austin enquired, his tone gentle as he stared at her with those beautiful, brown eyes. Ally immediately felt a little better after staring at his eyes. Somehow, although she would never admit it out loud, he made her feel safe with just one glance. Just one look at her with those eyes and she felt as if all of her worries just disappeared. It was ridiculous, but true. And what bugged her the most was that no matter how long she and Dallas were together for, he could never make her feel like that.

Ally sighed, giving up. "He asked me to go out tonight, and I said no, because I wanted to stay up with you and write the song. I guess he got jealous, and he said some stuff about you, so I defended you. He accused me of cheating, and called me some stuff I know he regrets...then he just left."

Austin immediately felt terrible. "Ally, I'm so sorry – I had no idea; I would have never asked you if I'd known –"

Ally cut him off by pressing a finger against his lips. "Hey. I am not blaming you. You asked me first, and this was my decision. I wanted to write this song with you; I love music more than I love anything, and I love..." she froze when she realised what she was about to say. Austin stared down at her. Her finger was still on his lips. Ally's eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips, and she let her hand fall before looking away hastily.

"And I love writing songs," she said lamely to cover up her mistake.

Austin sighed. "I don't care what he says about me, but if I ever hear him saying something to you, I'll punch him in the face."

Ally chuckled, relieved that he wasn't acting on her blunder. "Thanks, Austin."

"Now, come on," he stood and pulled her up with him. "We're gonna finish off the pizza, and the Chinese food, we're gonna turn on the radio and chill. We're taking a break, Als."

She smiled in relief. "That sounds awesome."

The pair sang along to all their favourite songs on the radio, while eating the pizza and noodles. The songs were usually fast and upbeat, so once they'd finished their food, they were dancing around the practise room together, singing the songs at the top of their lungs. Every now and then, Ally would suddenly cry out triumphantly, run to the piano and scribble lyrics furiously in her book. Austin would then help her sort them to fit the song, re-order them or change some words. Eventually, a slow song played on the radio. Breathing heavily from their recent fast dancing, Austin smiled at Ally and offered her his hand.

"Dance with me?" he asked.

Ally smiled at him and took his outstretched hand. "Of course."

He pulled her closer, and she placed her hands on his shoulders. His hands gently found her waist, and she felt the pit of her stomach roar to life as he touched her. Brushing off those feelings, she kept her gaze locked with his as he began to sway her gently to the music.

_Whenever I'm weary_  
_From the battles that raged in my head._  
_You made sense of madness._  
_When my sanity hangs by a thread_  
_I lose my way, but still you_  
_Seem to understand._  
_Now and Forever,_  
_I will be your man_

"There was more," she commented as they danced, resting her head on his chest.

"More?" he questioned.

"There was one other thing bothering me," she explained. "It's just, my dad keeps talking to me about applying to Harvard, and I'm not even a senior yet! Heck, I'm only 15 years old! I don't even want to go to Harvard."

"Well, tell him that," Austin suggested, resting his cheek on her hair. "Tell him you want to do something different with your life."

"I want to study at a music programme after I leave school. That's all I've ever wanted, and I tried telling him that, but he said music isn't a reliable future choice, and it won't get me far. But I don't care, you know? I just want to be around music," Ally sighed.

Austin spun Ally around, pulling her closer so her back was pressed up against his chest while his arms were wrapped around her.

_Sometimes I just hold you_  
_Too caught up in me to see_  
_I'm holding a fortune_  
_That Heaven has given to me._  
_I'll try to show you_  
_Each and every way I can_  
_Now and Forever,_  
_I will be your man_

Austin leaned down so his lips were by her ear. "Well, as long as you stick with me, I can assure you that you'll always be around music."

He flipped her around so she was facing him, pulling her even closer, if that were possible. The only way to seal the gap between them was if he kissed her, but that would never happen. They were stuck firmly in the friend zone; nothing could ever happen between them.

_Now I can rest my worries_  
_And always be sure_  
_That I won't be alone, anymore_  
_If I'd only known you were there_  
_All the time,_  
_All this time._

_Until the day the ocean_  
_Doesn't touch the sand_  
_Now and Forever_  
_I will be your man_

She smiled up at him. "You're the reason I'm surrounded by music, Austin. You always say I'm the reason you get to do what you do, but you're also the reason I get to do what I love."

Austin smiled back, his brown eyes smoldering as he sang the last lines of the song to her softly. "Now and forever, I will be your man."

_**Flashback Over**_

Ally snapped back to the present, and her eyes met Austin's. She knew in that moment that they were both remembering that evening. Ever since then, they promised they were partners and best friends now and forever, and that song was now _their _song. Even after dating Dallas for so long, the pair of them still didn't have a song.

Ally sighed. She knew the real reason she was rejecting this opportunity was coming closer and closer to the surface.

"Ally, please," he begged. "I need you. I only ever want to sing songs that Ally Dawson writes."

"Austin, I..." she struggled for the right words to say. "I _can't _leave. I just can't."

Hurt flashed across his face. "You can't? Or you don't want to?"

"I..." she sighed. "What about _my _future? What about _my _plans? Did you ever think that maybe I _don't _want to spend my future in California?"

"They have music schools in California, Ally," Austin told her. "You can study there after graduation!"

"Austin, I don't want to go to any old music school..." Ally explained. "I want to go to _the _music school. I want to go to Julliard in New York after graduation."

Austin said nothing, pursing his lips and raking his hands through his hair again, before pacing the store agitatedly. Ally knew he was desperately trying to come up with a plan in his head, but it would never work. None of this would work out.

"What about your stage fright?" he asked tonelessly, not facing her.

"I – I'm planning on overcoming it before I go," she said. "I've been thinking about this for a while now, Austin, and I'm going to try my best to overcome my stage fright. For too long it's kept me from my dreams. I'm not going to let it stop me from going to Julliard in three years."

"This is it, right?" he realised. "This is the main reason you don't want to go; the reason you've been trying to hide from me."

"Yes," Ally whispered.

Austin exhaled. "You're my partner, Ally. I can't do any of this without you – we said now and forever!"

"Austin..." Ally said quietly. "Austin, you _knew _we wouldn't _always _be partners. You knew this wouldn't last forever."

Her words literally broke his heart, and he took a step back from her as if she had slapped him in the face.

"Austin..." she began, already regretting her choice of words.

"We promised! Don't you remember?" he shouted.

Ally felt tears well in her eyes. "I took a reality check."

Austin took another step back, nodding; his voice flat. "Right. I get it, Ally. I have to go," he turned and began to walk away.

"No, wait, Austin, please don't go!" she begged, feeling her tears spill over.

"I can't do this anymore, Ally," Austin told her emotionlessly, pausing by the door. "I'm going to California."

**A/N: Review? Feedback? Please? I know, it was kind of depressing, but it's just a starter chapter, and there's more to come! Hope you enjoyed it, though :) **


	2. Dilemmas & Decisions

Ally sprawled herself out across her bed, allowing tears to leak down her cheeks as she closed her eyes. Austin's words kept replaying in her mind, and the expression of hurt that crossed his face seemed to be plastered behind her closed eyes. _I can't do this anymore, Ally. I'm going to California. _So, that was it? All of the fighting, the crying, the frustration and the arguments for the past month had all been for nothing? Austin was going, and there was nothing she could do about it. She _had _considered going...really, she had. She would fight internal battles constantly, fighting to go, but...something always persuaded her otherwise.

_This is huge! It's California! People would be paying for a CD of Austin singing _my _songs! He'd be famous, and so would I, as his songwriter!_

But is that what you want? Do you always want to be known as Ally Dawson; Austin Moon's introverted songwriter? Or do I want to make more out of myself than that?

_Are you crazy? I could never do that – Austin and I are the perfect match because of the way I am. I'm a shy songwriter with stage fright, and he's a confident guy who loves to perform! It's why we work – and if we work _here, _we're bound to work in California._

But what about Trish? You honestly think she can still be his manager if he's some famous rock star? And what about Dez? Austin will have professional directors directing his videos when he signs the record deal. And do you honestly believe that Austin's album will be made up of _your _songs? He'll have professional songwriters teaming up together to write songs for him – he won't use mine; I'm an amateur.

_That's not true, Austin _wants _to sing _my _songs; he said so himself! He would never do that to me. Besides, even if he didn't use _all _of my songs, he's my best friend. This is all he's ever wanted, and he wants _me _to be there with him. This is his dream. Shouldn't I be supporting him?_

Oh, just like he's supporting _your _dream? He doesn't care that you want to go Julliard; he's happy taking you away from your life in Miami to go to some school in California, before graduating and going to any random music college! That's not what I want – I want to go to Julliard!

_But...but this is _Austin. _He's my best friend, and I love him. I can't lose him. The idea of not seeing him everyday breaks my heart. I'm so used to him being around...what will happen when he's gone?_

...

Suddenly, the song Ally had written for Austin when he'd nearly swapped managers for good flashed through her mind. Better Together.

_Hey, I will always stay by your side forever, cos we're better together. Hey, there's no other way, we'll make it through whatever, cos we're better together. Like the waves need the sand to crash on, like the sun needs a world to shine on. You're the bright side of every day, me without you just isn't the same. _

Ally jumped up, her decision made. She'd written that song not just for Austin to sing, but it was about the pair of them, and how she felt they were better together rather than far apart. She knew exactly what she wanted now. In fact, she knew what she needed. Ally _had _to go California with Austin. There was no other option.

* * *

Austin flopped on his bed, chucking a mini basketball in the air and catching it again repeatedly. How could Ally not want to go to California with him? This meant everything to him; to both of them! Singing 'Double Take' had made him an overnight internet sensation, and ever since then, he'd made a name for himself, but there was so much _more _that he wanted. Sure, Ally wrote songs and he performed them because it was what they both loved; they did it because they loved it, not because they craved fame and money. But now that the opportunity was presenting itself to him..._how _could he say no? He couldn't; there was no way he could turn down such a fantastic opportunity. When he'd told his dad, he'd been so excited, but most of all, he'd been _proud. _That was something Austin always wanted to make him feel, especially after he'd told him music was a waste of time. He was making his father proud, while also proving him wrong. Clearly, turning this opportunity down was not an option.

But Ally. Was leaving Ally an option? Obviously, to her it was. But he couldn't do any of this without her. Why couldn't she see that? He knew Trish and Dez were delighted to go. Dez's parents were the careless type; they didn't really care what Dez did. It was probably one of the reasons Dez dressed like a clown, or acted like a total goof most of the time. So they had granted him permission to go. Trish was still trying to get through to her parents, but Ally hadn't even mentioned it to her dad yet. His heart ached. Did she really not want to go with him? _She _was the one who had written all those songs...'Without You', 'It's Me, It's You' and 'Better Together'. They were all songs underlining the importance and uniqueness of their relationship, and how they needed each other. Were they all just words, or had they really meant something?

Austin's phone began to ring, and he glanced over at it dully. The caller ID photo informed him it was Ally calling. Her caller ID was a photo he'd snapped of her waking up after falling asleep on the piano. She was smiling sleepily, her hair was a little messed up and her makeup was fading. But laughter was showing clearly in her sparkling eyes, and honestly, it was his favourite picture of her. But he couldn't talk to her right now. It hurt too much. Sighing, he hit the 'ignore' button and knocked his phone off the bedside table, listening to the muted thud as it hit the floor.

* * *

Ally sighed in exasperation as the call went to voicemail.

"_Hey, it's Austin Awesome Moon. I can't come to your call right now, cos I'm probably eating pancakes, or I'm just being awesome, so leave me a message and I'll get back to you later. What up!"_

Ally hung up the phone and shoved it in her pocket. She knew for certain that Austin always kept his phone with him to check for Tweeter updates, so clearly, he was ignoring her calls. Fine, then. This would have to be done the hard way.

She ran downstairs, past her dad who was lying on the couch, asleep. The basketball was still on TV, and he had a bowl of popcorn resting on his stomach. Should she leave him a note, or...? Yes, leave him a note just to be on the safe side. Ally quickly scribbled him a note explaining where she was going, and left it resting on the bowl of popcorn. She turned the volume down on the TV, closed the curtains, before tip-toeing from the room and out the front door.

Once out in the cool night air, Ally began to walk briskly down the street. Austin didn't live too far away; it was about a ten minute walk from her house. But ten minutes wasn't quick enough. Even though Ally sucked at sport, she broke into a run. The wind rushed by her, and it felt good. Her heart was slamming furiously against her chest, but not because she was out of breath, but because she was nervous. She was nervous about what she was about to do. Ally hardly ever made rash decisions, but she just knew in her heart that this was the right decision to make.

By the time she got to Austin's, her heart was beating even faster and her blood was pounding in her ears. Gasping for breath, Ally knocked desperately on the door. And then she remembered that Austin's mom worked late on Friday nights, so she wouldn't be back for another couple of hours. Her hand touched the door handle. And knowing Austin, the door would be left...she twisted the handle and pushed the door open. Unlocked.

"Austin!" she yelled, running into the living room. Not there. She ran into the kitchen, the dining hall, the study...not there.

"Austin!" Ally tried again, running up the stairs. She immediately made a beeline for his bedroom, but when she pushed the door open, his room was empty.

"Austin?" she called. Suddenly, the bathroom door opposite opened, and Austin walked out. He was shirtless, with only a pair of boxers on.

"Ally?" he said incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

But she didn't answer his question. Instead, Ally ran at him and flung her arms around his neck, not caring that he wasn't wearing a shirt. She hugged him tightly, forcing a reaction out of him. Immediately, his arms encircled her and he hugged her back, burying his nose in her soft, brown locks.

"How did you get in?" he mumbled into her hair.

"You don't lock your door," she replied accusingly, her voice muffled by his chest. Ally pulled away to look at him. "Austin, promise me for the next two minutes you won't say anything. Just let _me _talk, okay?"

Austin nodded, before miming zipping his lips and throwing the key away, like a dork. Stifling a giggle at how cute this was, Ally remembered her train of thought and began on with her speech.

"I hate it when we fight," she began. "I hate it. We hardly ever fight; not like that, anyway, and when we do, it breaks my heart. And you know what else breaks my heart? The thought of not being with you breaks my heart, Austin. I need you, and you need me. I love you, Austin, and I'm going. I'm going to California with you."

Unable to contain his happiness, Austin released a laugh and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back, feeling her heart swell at the ecstasy on Austin's face right now.

"I love you too, Als," he whispered. "And I'm so happy you're coming with me. This is the right decision. I promise you."

Ally giggled and beamed up at him. "I know."

**A/N: Thanks for the reviewing, I really appreciate it. I know, this chapter seems all happy and fluffy, but I'm warning you, it's gonna get a little sad after this one. But don't worry, I hate depressing stories myself, so I can assure you, it will all brighten up later on. I promise. Please review, feedback is always welcomed :)**


	3. Future Plans & Realisations

The next couple of weeks were...hectic. Austin's father was coming over to Miami so he could talk to Austin before they all came over, and then he could fly with them to California. Ally had told her father about going to California. She'd expected him to go ballistic; start yelling at her that she was crazy, or grounding her...but he didn't. He was quiet for a moment, before he'd said, "This is what you really want? You want to pursue your dreams in California? You're sure?" Ally had replied with a confident, "I'm totally sure." Lester had then nodded. "Okay. I'm proud of you, kiddo." And that had been that.

Trish's parents still weren't keen on the idea of letting her go, but after talking with Mike Moon, they had come to an agreement that as summer break was approaching, Trish could go for a month, and see how things went from there. Trish was furious with this vague agreement, but she knew if she complained her parents wouldn't let her go at all, so she'd grudgingly agreed to this.

School was coming to an end for the summer, and Ally was beginning to get more and more stressed out. With exams looming over her, packing her bags and working at the store, her life had become one tangled mess of work. She hardly ever got to hang out with Trish, and having limited girl-time was driving her crazy. Also, she was seeing less and less of Austin, as he was constantly answering phone calls, packing his bags, studying for exams, as well as keeping his parents from ripping each other's throats out every time they saw each other. As much as Mimi Moon hated Mike, she was extremely supportive of Austin's dreams, and was happy for this opportunity, but desperately sad to see him go. Austin had been spending more and more time with her to compensate what she would miss. Any time Austin and Ally got to spend together when they weren't both exhausted was precious to them, and they treasured this best friend time.

Another thing that was stressing Ally out was the fact that Dallas kept hinting at his desire for them to get back together. Their relationship had always been on the rocks, and right now they were taking a break. She'd been sick and tired of him accusing her of cheating with Austin, so in the end, she'd simply snapped, "Let's just take a break, okay, Dallas? I can't handle this right now, and if you don't trust that Austin and I are just friends, then it's _your _loss!"

It had been the first time she'd ever snapped at him, and he'd been pretty shocked. Instead of yelling at her, he'd simply walked away in astonishment. That had only been a couple of weeks ago. She'd watched him hooking up with other girls in front of her to annoy her, but she'd been too busy to care. Clearly, now, he wanted her back.

"Ally, will you please just listen to me?" Dallas cried. She was working behind the counter at Sonic Boom, attempting to complete homework while serving customers, and he was seriously doing her head in.

"Can't you see that I'm working, Dallas?" she retorted impatiently.

"Ally!" he huffed. "Just listen to me; for five minutes, okay?"

She exhaled. "Alright, fine. What do you want?"

"You've been dodging my calls," he stated. "And...I miss you, Ally. I miss not having you around."

"Well, Dallas, it didn't seem like you missed me when I saw you with all those other girls," she pointed out, smiling a thank you at a customer she just served, before cashing the money.

"Ally, those girls were a distraction! I was trying to get my mind off of you, but I couldn't. You're all I can ever think about, Ally, and you drive me crazy," he told her.

Ally looked at him properly now, feeling a small smile tug at her lips. "Really?"

"Really," Dallas smiled in relief, glad he'd finally gotten her attention. He took her hand in his. "I know, I was being a jealous ass. But I just don't want to lose you; you're too good to lose, that's why I got so jealous of Moon."

"Dallas..." Ally gently freed her hand. "I can't be with you. I'm sorry."

He stared at her, taken aback. "What? Why?"

"I..." she looked down at the counter, before meeting his gaze. "Austin got a record deal in California. I'm moving there with him in a week."

Dallas's jaw dropped and he raised his voice. "You're doing WHAT?"

"Dallas, please keep your voice down," she begged pointlessly, but he wasn't listening to her.

"Are you crazy?" he demanded. "How can you do this? He's a jerk, Ally, and he's using you! He's using you for his own personal gain! You honestly think that tool cares about you?"

"Dallas, he's my best friend!" Ally argued. "Of _course _he cares about me, and he's not using me!"

"Yes, he is!" Dallas replied viciously. "And don't give me that 'he's my best friend' crap. You've cancelled on me so many times to hang out with _him_, and all he's ever done is mooch off you. He doesn't care about you! When are you going to grow up and realise that?"

"Dallas, if you don't stop yelling I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Ally hissed, trying to ignore the staring customers.

"Screw that!" he yelled. "You're my girlfriend, and if he thinks he can walk all over you and drag you all the way to Cali-frickin-fornia, then he has another thought coming! I'll beat the crap out of him!"

Ally tried to keep her voice calm and even as she replied. "I am _not _your girlfriend, because we are taking a break. And don't touch Austin. If you hurt Austin, I can promise you I will never speak to you again."

"You're not going!" Dallas grabbed her arm. "There's no way! You are not choosing him over me!"

Ally was used to Dallas's temper, so she usually remained calm when he yelled at her. But Austin, on the other hand, had never seen Dallas shout at Ally. So when he walked into Sonic Boom and saw him yelling in her face while grabbing her arm, his jaw had tightened with anger and he strode over with clenched fists.

"Ally!" he called, approaching them and glaring pointedly at the hand Dallas had on her. Dallas let her go and stepped back, focusing his glare on Austin. Austin ignored him and touched Ally's shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked her gently.

"I'm fine," she assured him quickly, before looking over at Dallas. "Dallas, I think you should leave."

"Ally, you may be okay with dropping everything for this idiot, but I'm not," Dallas said raggedly, glowering at Austin. "Can't you see he's ruining your life?"

"The only one ruining anything is you," Ally sighed. "Can you please, just go?"

Austin glared back at Dallas. "You heard her. Get out of here. And if I ever see you touching her like that again, I'm gonna kick your ass."

Dallas tore his gaze away from Austin to look at Ally. "If you're happy dumping your future in the trash for him, then so be it. I thought you were smarter than that, Ally." With that, he strode out of the shop, slamming the door behind him. Ally groaned in frustration, but felt grateful as the customers stopped staring and returned to admiring the instruments.

"Thanks, Austin," she mumbled, trying to forget what Dallas had said.

"It's okay," he nodded, looking away. "I, uh, I just wanted to drop by before I go out for lunch with my dad. I haven't seen you all week."

"I know," Ally forced a smile, trying to act as if that all hadn't happened. "I've been pretty busy."

"Yeah, me too," Austin smiled a little at her. "We'll hang out later on tonight, okay? I'm free, are you?"

Ally brightened at the prospect of spending time with him. "Yeah, I'm free. Feel like watching a movie at my place? My dad's at a convention."

"Sure," he smiled. "I'll be over at ten. Catch you later, Als." Shooting her one last, dazzling smile, Austin headed out the shop. Ally sighed, resting her elbows on the counter and burying her face in her hands. Dallas's words were ringing through her ears..._dropping everything, _and _dumping your future. _She hadn't given her future much thought ever since she'd decided to go to California. It was a box she wanted to leave unopened, at least for a while. But now that Dallas had reminded her of it, the prospect of leaving her future in the hands of fate was daunting. Ally was one of those organised people; the type who liked to have everything set out, and one who liked to plan ahead. But now her future was just...blank. No plans. And it scared the crap out of her.

* * *

Austin tried to keep his mind from wandering back to Ally as he ate lunch with his father. They were in some fancy restaurant he couldn't remember the name of, and he was eating the most delicious chicken pie in the world, but he couldn't focus on the taste of the pie. All he could think about was what Dallas had said to Ally. Was he really ruining her life? But Ally had been the one who had decided to come with him; he'd never actually forced her, had he? Sure, he'd tried his hardest to persuade her, but he'd never _forced _her. And Ally wasn't dumping her future in the trash, was she? There were plenty of music schools in California; besides, Ally's songs were amazing! She was sure to get recognition in California. There was no way he would record any songs on his album that weren't written by her anyway, and he would share the income with her.

"Austin?"

His dad's voice broke him from his thoughts. "Hm?"

"Are you alright? You seem a little distracted," Mike commented.

"I'm fine," he lied, quickly eating some more chicken pie. "I'm just a little overwhelmed with everything that's happening, that's all."

"Of course you are," his dad grinned. "You're going to California, son! And I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, dad," Austin smiled. "That means a lot."

"I want to apologise to you, Austin," Mike said after a brief moment of silence.

"For what?" Austin asked absently, spooning more pie into his mouth.

"For ever doubting you," he said gently; his tone causing Austin to look up. "You know, I watched every video you posted on the internet, and each one made me so proud, and so happy to see you doing what you loved. _I _was just too proud to call you up and admit that I was wrong; wrong about everything. Wrong about music, and sure as hell wrong about you."

Austin smiled. "Thanks, dad. But I couldn't have done any of it without my friends. Especially Ally," he added.

"Yes, she seems like a lovely girl," Mike commented. "Are you two together, or...?"

"Just friends," he replied. "I love her, and I think she's awesome, but we're in the friend zone."

Was that disappointment he heard in his voice as he said that? No...he couldn't feel that way about Ally. If they dated, it could ruin their friendship, and he treasured his friendship with her too much to let that happen.

"She must really love you," Mike said, not realising how much these words were stunning Austin.

"Wh-what do you mean?" he stammered.

"Well, I just mean, she's willing to go wherever you go for your career," he shrugged. "I was just saying that she must really care about you."

"Uh, no..." Austin said hastily. "That's not it...uh, this is as much of an opportunity for her as it is for me, right?"

Mike eyed him doubtfully. "If you say so, son."

"What are you trying to say, Dad?" he sighed.

His father gave him an apologetic smile. "All I'm saying is...it's a bit of sacrifice for her to make, don't you think? So if you, you know, _do _love as more than a friend, you should tell her."

"Wait, is that what this is about? Telling her I love her in _repayment _for coming with me?" Austin said, his brain struggling to comprehend what his dad was implying.

Mike shrugged. "_If _you feel that way, of course."

Austin shook his head in bewilderment. "Wow, dad...just wow. Ally and I...we're _just _friends. Why does everyone keep saying she's sacrificing so much for me? I mean...is she?"

Mike sighed. "I don't want to tell you what to do –"

"No, please," he sighed. "_Please _do. I'm suddenly doubting this all."

His dad nodded. "Okay, I will. I just want you to make sure...make sure that going to California is what you _both _want. I want you to be sure that Ally is coming to California with you because it's what _she _wants, not because she loves you. I just don't want you to have to deal with the pressure of...a guilty conscience."

Austin exhaled worriedly. "A guilty conscience? What for?"

Mike sighed regretfully. "For keeping her from living _her _dreams."

Austin breathed out, leaning back in his chair and sighing. Crap. When did this get all complicated? _I'm a terrible person, _he realised.

"No, you're not," Mike said, causing Austin to look up, startled. Had he said that out loud? "You're just..." he smirked. "Blinded a little by love."

"I can't take Ally with me, can I?" he said grimly.

Mike regarded him sympathetically. "I don't think it would be right if you did."

Austin sighed. _Well, hell. _

**Thanks for the reviews, and please let me know what you think :)**


	4. Letters & Goodbyes

Ally sighed, staring at the clock impatiently while tapping her foot. She'd set up her living room for the movie with Austin. There were bowls of popcorn and sweets on the table, as well as drinks. The collection of DVDs to choose between were in a neat pile by the DVD player, and there were blankets and cushions on the sofa. But it was now half past ten, and Austin still wasn't here. Had he forgotten about her? Or was he just late?

Ally picked her phone up off the side and dialled Austin's number. To her surprise, it went straight to voicemail. Austin _never _switched his phone off, unless the battery died. Maybe the battery _had _just died...it's not like he would stand her up and then not call, right? _Relax, Ally. This is Austin. He's probably just running late, and is on his way right now. Or maybe he fell asleep. That's plausible; he _has _been tired lately. _

Ally kept her gaze fixed on the clock, now drumming her fingers against the coffee table impatiently. 10:35...10:40...10:45...10:50...10:55...11:00.

"Hey, Austin..." Ally said, recording her fifth voicemail. "I guess you're not showing up. Maybe you fell asleep, I dunno..." she chuckled sadly. "You _have _been tired lately. But you're worrying me; you're not answering your phone. I'll pack away the DVDs, but just please, when you get these messages...I don't care what time it is, but please, just call me. Okay? Bye." She hung up the phone with a sigh. Her stomach was churning unpleasantly, and she couldn't help but feel like something terrible had happened. _Should I call his home phone? Or am I just being clingy? Or paranoid? _Eventually, she decided calling his home phone just to check he was okay was the right thing to do. Feeling apprehensive for reasons she didn't understand, Ally picked up her home phone and dialled Austin's house number.

His mother, Mimi, picked up on the second ring. "Hello?" her voice was thick, as if she'd been crying. Not good.

"Hi, Ms Moon, I'm sorry to call so late, but it's Ally," she said politely. "I was just wondering if Austin's with you? He was supposed to meet me tonight, and he never showed, and he's not answering his phone. I'm just a little worried."

Mimi was quiet for a moment. "Oh, Ally..."

"What? What is it?" Ally demanded worriedly. "Did something happen to him? Is he okay?"

"Ally, Austin and his father left," she explained gently. "They went to the airport at eight o'clock this evening...their flight for California left at ten."

The ground seemed to disappear beneath Ally's feet, and it felt like her heart juddered to a stop. "What?" she whispered, immediately feeling tears spring to her eyes. "Yeah," Mimi nodded. "I – I'm sorry Ally, I thought you knew. Dez went with them too."

"Trish?" Ally managed to utter.

"No," she said softly. "Just Austin, Mike and Dez."

"Oh..." tears fell down Ally's cheeks, and she started to cry uncontrollably.

"Ally? Ally?" Mimi said loudly over her crying. "Ally, he left you a letter. He left it on your doorstep."

"Thank you," Ally gasped. "Goodbye." She hung up the phone, and let it fall from her hands. _No, no, no, this could not be happening. Austin _can't _have left me. _In an effort to prove this was all a dream, Ally staggered to her feet and made her way to the front door. Hands trembling, she opened the door and looked down on her porch. Sure enough, a white envelope had been left with her name written clearly on the front, in Austin's messy handwriting. Feeling oddly calm, she closed the front door, and sat crossed-legged on the porch, resting her back against the door. Ally opened the letter and began to read:

_Dear Ally,_

_If you're reading this, then it probably means you're upset with me for not turning up to our movie date/hangout. I'm sorry, Ally. I'm sorry about everything. I've been a selfish, ignorant asshole lately, and you're the one suffering. I can't stand the thought of me ruining your future, and I hate the fact that you're dropping everything to follow my dreams. The truth is, and we both know it, this isn't YOUR dream. It's mine. Your dream is New York, and Julliard. I refuse to stand in the way of your dreams, Ally. It's selfish, and I won't do that to you._

_By now, you've probably guessed what I've done, or you already know. I'm gone, Ally. I've gone to California with my dad and Dez. I know you're probably mad that I didn't say goodbye properly, but you know what? I'm not sorry. I won't ever say goodbye to you, Ally, because I will never truly leave you. That's why I've put my favourite silver necklace in this envelope. I'm coming back for it eventually, Als, and I'm coming back for you. I promise you. But first, I need to do this. I have to go to California. This is all I've ever wanted, and I can't turn this opportunity down. It may be the only shot I get, and we both know that._

_I love you, Ally. And it's because I love you, that I can't be selfish with you. I can't keep you all to myself when I know you have your own dreams to achieve, and your own life to live in Miami. You deserve so much more than settling for living my dreams, and I can't tell you how sorry I am for trying to take you away from your life. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. And I'm sorry, Ally. I don't know when I'm going to see you again, but I swear, I will. I will be there to watch you graduate from high school, and then Julliard._

_No matter how crazy my life gets, I will hold onto our friendship forever. I won't forget you. Ever._

_Love always, Austin._

So, that was it. Ally tipped the envelope upside down, and Austin's necklace fell out. Her tears splashed onto the piece of paper as she looped the chain around her neck. It hadn't sunk in yet what was happening. Austin...gone...California...no goodbye. Her heart seemed to break in two, as she held the pendant of the necklace tightly in her hand. She was empty. She was broken.

* * *

_Previously - after lunch with his father_

Austin walked into his bedroom in a daze; the conversation with his father still fresh in his mind. He felt empty. Broken. The idea of not taking Ally with him was slowly eating at his insides, but as the seconds passed by, it was feeling more and more right to do this. What was he thinking in the first place? This was _his _dream. Dragging his friends with him was selfish, and unrealistic. They all had their own lives...well, Dez was pretty psyched to be going to California, and he _wanted _to go, but Trish and Ally? This wasn't what they wanted, and he knew he couldn't act like everything was okay taking them with him. The guilty conscience his dad was talking about...that was already gnawing at his insides and twisting in his gut. He _couldn't _rip Ally away from her life; he refused to do it.

"Austin?"

He turned to see Dez peering into his bedroom, as if he was unsure of whether or not to come in.

"Hey, man, what are you doing here?" Austin asked, flopping onto his bed and motioning for him to come in. Dez entered the room and threw himself into the armchair.

"I was on my way over anyway," he shrugged. "Your dad told me you'd be up here. Hey, look, check it out. I made some more window burgers!" he tugged some window burgers from his back-pack. "Yeah, Ally didn't even see me do it. I brought extra..." he grinned. "Feel like sharing?"

"I'm good, thanks," Austin said dully; really not in the mood for Dez's craziness. But he would never have the heart to tell him that.

His face fell. "Austin? What's up, man? You never say no to window burgers."

Austin sighed. "We have to leave tonight, Dez."

"Leave where?" he asked; his expression clueless.

"California," he explained impatiently. "I can't do this anymore. I can't drag the girls with us, Dez. With you, it's different, California is what you want too, but for them...Trish will get bored eventually. Her life is here in Miami, and we both know she'll get homesick away from her crazy family. And Ally's dream is definitely not California – she wants to go to Julliard in New York, Dez. The idea of them dropping everything for me makes me sick, and I feel so guilty for even considering it."

Dez sighed, and for once, all the goofiness had vanished from his face and he looked serious. "You're right, Austin. I guess we should say goodbye to them both. Man, I'm gonna miss them. I'm gonna miss Ally's no-fun rules, and how she always yells at us when we eat in the store. And even though Trish spends her free time beating me up, I'm gonna miss her too."

Austin exhaled sadly. "Yeah, I'm gonna miss them both. But I can't say goodbye to Ally, Dez. She'll cry, and beg me not to leave, and I know she'll force me to take her along anyway. She's stubborn. I have to go where she can't follow."

"What, so you're just not going to say goodbye to her?" he asked.

"I'll write her a letter," he decided. "And I can't say goodbye if I'm not going to truly leave her."

"Can I at least say goodbye to Trish?" Dez questioned. "If I explain to her why she can't tell Ally, I know she'll understand."

Austin regarded his friend in surprise. "Dez, that was smart, _and _sensitive."

He shrugged. "What can I say? I have my moments. Where _is _Trish, anyway? Do we know where she's working right now?"

They both lapsed into a thoughtful silence for a moment, before scoffing simultaneously.

"She'll probably be taking a prolonged break in the food court," Austin grinned.

"Got it," Dez grabbed his window burgers and shoved them back into his bag. "Later, dude."

* * *

Austin growled in frustration and hurled the twentieth paper ball at the bin, just as his dad walked into his room.

"What's the matter, son?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be packing? We're leaving for the airport in half an hour."

After Dez had left, Austin had told his parents about leaving early. His dad had immediately booked them a flight for tonight at ten, while his mother had started crying and left the room. She wasn't ready to say goodbye just yet, but Austin knew she would come around. He felt bad, but right now, he _had _to finish this letter to Ally.

"I'm trying to find the right words to say to Ally, and none of them sound right!" he vented in frustration. "I mean, I got like, a C in English, but I never thought it would be this hard to write a stupid letter!"

"Why did you toss out all those letters?" Mike asked, gesturing to the overflowing bin.

"Because they all sounded too stupid, or too cheesy, or too sad, and not what I want them to sound like! It's like the words aren't even coming from me; they're just...lame-ass apologies!" he grumbled.

Mike was quiet for a moment. "Austin, why don't you just go over and talk to her?"

"I can't do that!" he argued agitatedly. "All that'll happen is she'll cry, give me the puppy-dog eyes and make me forget why I'm doing this to her in the first place. I need to be strong about this, but I'm never going to find the right words to write down."

"Well, okay..." he nodded slowly. "Just imagine you're going over to her house, and imagine she's promised to not talk until you've finished." As he said this, a small smile flashed across Austin's face, as he remembered Ally making him promise not to talk until she'd finished her speech.

"And then just write whatever you would say to her," Mike ruffled his son's hair affectionately, before making his way back to the door. "Don't make it sound all formal. Make it sound like _you_."

Austin sighed. "Okay."

"Good," Mike nodded. "Hurry up, though. We've only got half an hour." He left, closing the door behind him. Taking a deep breath, Austin sat at his desk with a fresh piece of paper.

"Dear, Ally..." he murmured as he began to write.

**A/N: as usual, please let me know what you think. I will update as soon as I can, cos I want to keep this story moving. I have a good plot idea, and all will brighten up eventually! **

**Quick question: later on in the story, there will be a school play in which Ally will be involved in. I can't decide between these two plays, because I love them both, so please let me know which one I should pick. I know there aren't loads of options, but I would really appreciate a vote**

**1. Grease**

**2. Bugsy Malone**

**I will choose the one with the most votes, but I'm not saying anything else regarding Ally's participation in the play! Please vote :)**


	5. Diaries & Emails

(I do not own any of the songs mentioned in this chapter, or Austin & Ally)

* * *

_June 8__th__ 2012_

_Dear Diary,_

_School broke out today for summer...I know I should be celebrating, but honestly, all I can think about is twelve weeks ahead of me spending a summer without Austin. It's been a month since he left, and honestly...I'm a total mess._

_For instance, I haven't written a single song lyric since he left. Heck, this is the first time I've written in my song book since the day he left. When Austin left, he took everything with him. I have no idea how I survived before Austin and I were friends. I know that sounds kind of dramatic, because I had Trish, and I liked my life, but I don't remember it before Austin came into my life. I'm so used to having him around, and suddenly, he's just gone._

_I'm so mad at him. I don't think I've ever been so mad at him before in my life. Sometimes I'll be sitting there, and I'll just feel so angry all of a sudden. And when I start flipping out, and screaming, and throwing things across my room...I see his picture. And all that anger evaporates and turns to tears, and I forget why I was even mad in the first place. I just think of how empty and sad I feel. This is partly my fault, of course. Maybe I'd feel better if I replied to his phone calls, or his web-cam calls, or his emails and texts. But something inside of me can't bring myself to replying. I just know as soon as I hear his voice, I'll melt, and I'll need him back. I miss him so much, it's taking all of my willpower not to jump on a plane and meet him in California. But then I think about Julliard, and New York, and I know I have to be strong if it's going to pay off one day in the future._

_I guess in a way Austin meant well by leaving. But that doesn't mean I benefitted. I know that he thought he was doing it for me, but I would've appreciated some sort of warning. But how can I be mad at him when I know that it hurt him as much as it hurt me? These thoughts rage around in my head every day, and I can only come to one conclusion. I'm angry with him, because before he left I was falling for him, and now he's just gone. I'm angry because I love him, and miss him, and I hate him for making me feel this way._

_Possible song lyrics?_

_I always needed time on my own  
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry  
And the days feel like years when I'm alone  
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side_

_When you walk away I count the steps that you take_  
_Do you see how much I need you right now?_

* * *

June 8th 2012

To: ally-gator236

From: austinlovespancakes

Subject: I miss you

Dear Ally,

OK, seriously, Ally, this is the 25th email I've sent you in a month, as well as the 48 texts, the 19 calls, and the eleven web-cam calls. Look, I know you're probably avoiding me because you're mad, but please, stop being mad. I miss you so much, and you're not replying to me. It's killing me not having any sort of contact with you.

Please, reply Ally. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please. I was in the writer's studio today, and I was collaborating with a bunch of other songwriters. They got nothing on you, Als. I wish you could be writing my songs right now. These songs are great, but none of them, not one of them compares to the songs you wrote me. I miss you so much, not even pancakes and cheerleaders could make me feel better.

Crap, I gotta go now, Als, I'm meant to be back in the studio again. I love you, and miss you, Als. PLEASE reply to me. Please.

Love, Austin.

* * *

_June 15__th__ 2012 _

_A week hasn't changed anything. He sends me emails once a week, calls twice a week and texts every day. I don't know if I can keep avoiding him though. Every single word he writes that I read makes me angrier and angrier, because it makes me miss him even more. I just know that if I hear his voice, the fragile strength I've built up to resist him will crumble. I have to stay strong. _

_More possible song lyrics:_

_When you're gone  
The pieces of my heart are missing you  
When you're gone  
The face I came to know is missing too  
When you're gone  
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok  
I miss you_

* * *

June 15th 2012

To: ally-gator236

From: austinlovespancakes

Subject: ALLY!

ALLY, PLEASE REPLY TO ME. JUST ONE REPLY, PLEASE. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW CRAZY YOU'RE MAKING ME. I NEED TO HEAR YOUR VOICE, JUST ONCE.

Also, I think I filled up your voicemail to the maximum. So please, return one of my calls.

Love, Austin.

* * *

_July 1__st__ 2012 _

_Dear Diary_

_Dallas asked me out today...again. He apologised to me and everything; saying how out of line he was to yell at me, and how much he missed me, and how sorry he was that Austin left me. And then he kissed me. It was kind of perfect, actually, and when I'm with him, at __times, __he makes me forget the pain of Austin's absence. But the empty feeling is still there...even if I forget about it for a little, something triggers a memory of Austin, and that emptiness just comes back._

_Possible song lyrics:_

_I've never felt this way before  
Everything that I do reminds me of you  
And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor  
And they smell just like you, I love the things that you do_

_When you walk away I count the steps that you take_  
_Do you see how much I need you right now?_

* * *

July 5th 2012

To: ally-gator236

From: austinlovespancakes

Subject: Recording Studio

Hey, Als. I've kind of accepted the fact that you're never going to reply to me, but I get this feeling that you ARE reading my emails. Well, at least I hope you are. I was in the recording studio today, and I was working on a song that I wrote. I know, right? I wrote a song, almost all by myself. And, I...I wrote it about you. It's the first single I'm releasing, so please, listen to it. It's called 'Stole My Heart.'

Love, Austin.

* * *

_July 31__st__ 2012 _

_Dear Diary_

_Ugh, I'm having the crappiest day ever! First, I'm sick with the flu. I know, right? We're in the middle of the summer, and I get the flu! This, obviously, made me think of Austin. Whenever I was sick, he would stay with me. He would sit by my bedside, practically wait on me, and then he would sing to me and play his guitar. I hate the flu for making me miss him. Second, Dallas and I got into another fight. It was over something stupid – I don't even remember why. Maybe I was being extra snappy because I feel sick, or something. But this reminded me of Austin too, because he was always there to comfort me when Dallas and I fight. I hate Dallas for making me miss Austin. _

_Lastly, Austin's new single was released on YouTube today. The one he said was for me in his email...it's called 'Stole My Heart.' I HATE him! How can he confuse me like this? This must sound bizarre, but it'll make sense if you hear the lyrics...the chorus goes like this:_

_Under the lights tonight  
You turned around, and you stole my heart  
With just one look, when I saw your face  
I fell in love  
It took a minute girl to steal my heart tonight  
With just one look, yeah  
Been waiting for a girl like you_

_What does that even mean? Is he...is he in love with me? No, Austin is most definitely NOT in love with me; it's probably just a way of making the song come together, or something. _

_But just seeing him in that music video...it broke my heart in two. I cried for three straight hours after seeing that, which only made my stuffy nose worse. I'm so sick I don't even have any new song lyrics._

_Life sucks._

* * *

August 15th 2012

To: ally-gator236

From: austinlovespancakes

Subject: (No subject)

Hey, Als...you're still not replying, and it's kinda breaking my heart. I just thought you should know that my album's coming out tomorrow...and I really hope you buy a copy and listen to it, because most of the songs are about you. I miss you, Als. I miss you more than anything.

Love, Austin.

* * *

_August 16__th__ 2012_

_Dear Diary_

_So, Austin's album came out today. It's selling in all music stores and on iTunes. Trish bought a copy immediately, and forced me to listen to it. The album is titled 'Home Is In Your Eyes'. This song made me cry. Dallas found the copy of his CD on the counter at Sonic Boom, and he snubbed me all day. It wasn't even my copy – it belonged to Trish. But, oddly enough, that didn't bother me. What bothered me is the fact that I was so close to calling Austin today, but then I read through his letter again. __"The truth is, and we both know it, this isn't YOUR dream. It's mine. Your dream is New York, and Julliard. I refuse to stand in the way of your dreams, Ally."_

_So...he's gone. And I'm no closer to achieving my dreams than I would be if I went with him. You wanna know why? Because I am a total wimp, and I need to get over my stage fright if I want to get into Julliard. I said to him I would, and when he returns, I want to show that I've made something of myself. _

_So, I wrote the chorus to a new song idea:_

_You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine  
Just own the night like the 4th of July_

_'Cause baby you're a firework_  
_Come on, show 'em what you're worth_  
_Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"_  
_As you shoot across the sky-y-y_

_Baby, you're a firework_  
_Come on, let your colors burst_  
_Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"_  
_You're gonna leave 'em all in "awe, awe, awe"_

_I'm going to stay up all night finishing this song if I have to. It's my starting point. I am going to GET OVER MY STAGE FRIGHT._

* * *

1st October 2012

To: ally-gator236

From: austinlovespancakes

Subject: Tour

Hey, Als. You're back to school by now, which means that you're a junior now. Man, that's kind of crazy. Dez and I are being homeschooled. Did you know that Dez won a film-festival? And, get this, And, get this, he's made new friends! I know, right, it's awesome, and even though they're as mentally weird as him, it's pretty cool. He's living his dream life.

I actually emailed you to let you know, I'm going on tour. It's called Austin Moon: Live In Concert. I'm touring North America and I even get to play in England! I'm so excited, but I'm also really depressed. I need you here with me, Als. I miss you more and more each day. My first concert is in San Diego, and it's on November 16th. I'll send you a list of my dates and the venues soon. Do you think maybe you could make one concert? Just one concert? Als, you're driving me crazy! Why are you ignoring me? Please! I miss you so much; please just call me!

Love, Austin.

* * *

_1__st__ October 2012 _

_Dear Diary,_

_I replied to Austin's email today...my heart was thudding the whole time a billion beats per minute, and I was crying the entire time. It was the desperate edge that set me off, and I had to reply. It just made me even more mad at him, because I miss him even more. But I printed my email off, and stuck it down. Here's what I put:_

Dear Austin,

I know I've been dodging you, but...it hurts too much to think of replying to your emails, or listening to the sound of your voice. I don't care how dramatic it sounds, but I'm serious; I don't think my heart can take hearing your voice right now. But you should know that Trish and I are fine, and she and Dallas are helping me get over my stage fright.

I'm so proud of you, Austin. The songs on your album made me cry, and I'm so happy that you're going on tour, but...I won't be able to make your concerts. My dad won't be able to afford it, and I've got so much on my plate with songwriting, homework and looking after the store. But I'll try and watch some of your performances on YouTube.

Austin, this is the first and last email I'm sending to you. I need to keep my distance. It just hurts too much; I'm sorry. I know you probably don't understand, but...when you left, it took every ounce of willpower I had left not to jump on a plane to California and follow you. And then I remembered why you left – to follow your dream and make sure I didn't give up on mine. If I hear you talking to me, I still know I'll melt, and I'll follow you to California. So in order to make sure I do pursue my dream, I need to stay right where I am. I can't let anything, or anyone stop me from working toward my dream. I'm sorry.

Love, Ally.

* * *

2nd October 2012

To: ally-gator236

From: austinlovespancakes

Subject: **RE: Tour**

Right, Ally, I get it. Well, actually, I don't know if I get it. Ugh, I just don't know. I don't know.

* * *

A/N: sorry, this was kind of a filler chapter, I guess, but it's essential in seeing how they're both coping being away from each other. Next chapter will be back to normal, promise! Thank you for the reviews, and please keep reviewing to give me your feedback, because I am always interested :) And just out of interest, my favourite episode of Austin & Ally is Diners and Daters...what's yours? xx

Just to answer a few questions:

**Man-Suz-She**, GUILTY! Lol, yes, those lines were from Vampire Diaries, I love that show and cannot wait for season 4! :D

**Dont-Stop-Believin**, yeah, I think so! That's the necklace I always see Austin wearing, I guess, so yeah, let's go with that! :)


	6. Passing Time & New People

The year of 2012 eventually ended. On New Year's Eve, Ally spent the night at a party Dallas was throwing. All of her friends had been there...well, almost all of them. When Dallas had kissed Ally at midnight, she'd felt guilty for weeks after, because all she'd been thinking about for the entire duration of the kiss was Austin. Trish had noticed how quiet her friend had gotten, and had eventually whined enough to make Ally cave and tell her the truth.

"Seriously?" Trish had blinked and stared at her blankly. "_That's _what's been bothering you?"

"Yes!" Ally had replied defensively.

Trish had simply rolled her eyes. "It's no big deal, Ally, he was probably thinking about you too. It's been seven months since you've seen each other."

Austin had performed in Times Square in New York on New Year's Eve...it was his biggest dream come true, yet afterward, he didn't feel any different. In fact, he just felt empty. Dez had been practically howling with enjoyment and delight, but Austin couldn't help but feel that the moment was nothing like he expected it to be, and he knew it was because his two best girl buds were missing. Ally was missing.

Junior year passed by slowly for Ally. Austin hardly ever emailed her anymore; not since that last one he'd sent on 2nd October. Naturally, Ally had started crying when she'd read that mail, because she knew how sad and confused she'd made him feel. He'd mailed her at Christmas though, simply wishing her a Merry Christmas, and hoping that she was well. She hadn't replied. He'd also emailed her on her sixteenth birthday. That one she _had _replied to. She felt way too rude to ignore a birthday wish. She'd simply put 'thank you. Missing you lots'. He hadn't replied though, and she wasn't sure how that made her feel.

Ally was slowly getting over her stage fright. It was taking time, but she was becoming more and more confident. Every time she felt like throwing up, or running off stage, or bursting into nervous tears, she would stop. She would take a deep breath, and then she would think of Austin. She thought about his smile, his laugh, the way his eyes twinkled and what a beautiful singing voice he had. And then she would also remind herself of why he left; to pursue his dream and ensure she didn't give up on hers. And suddenly, everything was okay. Her head would stop spinning, her stomach would stop churning and she could see clearly again. Austin was her cure for stage fright.

Austin's career was taking off. On August 5th 2013, his second album was released, and it was titled 'Give A Little More'. His songs featured many different artists on this album, such as Usher and Bruno Mars. He promoted this album with a tour starting in September 2013 and ending in April 2014. He toured most of North America and South America, as well as visiting England, Spain and France. He appeared in photo shoots, interviews, magazines, and honestly, Ally was finding it extremely hard to forget about him when all the girls at school were gushing about him.

It was now late April 2014, and Ally was in her senior year. She hadn't seen Austin in person since May 2012. It was 23 months in counting, which was just under two years. She was a stronger person now. Ally had finally gotten over her stage fright, and she'd applied to Julliard, and other music schools in the state. Acceptance letters were due out, which was putting Ally increasingly on edge as she hadn't heard back from anyone yet. Trish had gotten into Yale. It turned out, that all the time she'd spent lazing off on her work breaks this year, she'd actually been studying really hard. She had come right up at the top of the class in the final exams; putting her on par with Ally.

Ally's life was way busier than it had ever been. Her dad was getting re-married, which she'd neglected to mention in her diary/songbook (!). He'd met Charlotte at one of his conventions, and they immediately hit it off. Honestly, Ally never thought her dad would find love again after her mother had left them when she was five, but he'd been granted another chance at love, and Ally was so happy for them both. Charlotte's kids were all grown up now, and Ally had only met her two older sons a couple of times, but they would be coming down for the wedding which was approaching fast.

Also, Ally was involved in the school play. The school's pianist had been diagnosed with meningitis, meaning he couldn't play the songs in the school play. Ally being the most talented pianist in the school had been asked to step in, so she was spending any free time she had learning the score for the play, which happened to be Grease. Thanks to getting over her stage fright, playing piano in the play wasn't a big deal. Of course, she still got nervous, but every time she played the piano she would wear Austin's necklace, and she was reassured that everything would be okay.

Somehow, Trish had been voted senior class president, which also made her head of the Prom Committee. Senior class president had been the one job, as well as Austin's manager, that she actually liked and wanted to keep. She loved having power. Trish had begged her best friend to join the Prom Committee with her, so reluctantly, Ally had agreed. The prom committee would eventually start holding meetings to prepare for the senior prom, which was just over three weeks away. So on top of helping with the wedding, school play rehearsals, homework, and looking after the store, Ally's life was pretty busy at the moment. She was seeing less and less of Dallas, which, surprisingly enough, he wasn't so bothered about. This was a relief to Ally, who was pretty sure she couldn't handle a Dallas-tantrum right now.

Ally exhaled tiredly as she appraised her reflection in the hallway mirror. It was Monday morning, and she was ready to leave for school. She was just waiting for Trish to pick her up...BEEP! She chuckled. That was Trish's car outside. Ally grabbed her school bag.

"Bye, dad, bye Charlotte!" she called, before hurrying out the front door. Trish was beeping the horn obnoxiously, not even looking at the front door.

"Trish!" Ally shouted over the beeping as she slid into the car. "Seriously; you probably woke up the whole street!"

Trish regarded her thoughtfully. "You say it as though I'm supposed to care..." she mused sarcastically. Ally laughed as Trish pulled out of Ally's road and down the street. "So, do you wanna go catch a movie tonight?"

She shook her head apologetically. "I can't; I have rehearsals after school, and then I'm performing at Sonic Boom. You know, getting over my stage fright and everything."

Trish rolled her eyes. "Ally, please! You are so _over _your stage fright by now, thanks to me!"

Ally sighed. "Trish, Julliard acceptance letters are coming out, and I'm a nervous wreck! I only feel relaxed when I'm singing; even if it's in front of an audience! Besides, the more practise I get in front of crowds, the better."

Trish breathed out irritably, but Ally knew she wasn't mad. "So, I'm guessing you want me there for moral support, right?"

"I'd love you forever..." she sang with a chuckle.

"Fine," her best friend grumbled, causing Ally to laugh. Eventually, they pulled into the school's car park, and Trish cut the engine. The two friends got out, and made their way into the school. Immediately, they were bombarded by other students; who were either in the school play, or on the prom committee, or just generally needed something.

"Ally, don't forget about that rehearsal after school!"

"Trish, you haven't created that petition for cleaner girls' restrooms!"

"Ally, the music teacher needs to see you about the sheet music!"

"Trish, when are you going to organise the yearbook committee?"

"Ally, will you please tell Trish to organise a prom committee meeting?"

"Trish, are we having a senior ditch day?"

Ally and Trish exchanged grim looks. Another fun day at school to look forward too...

* * *

It was lunch time, and Trish was sitting alone in the library..._I know, right?_ She scoffed. How pathetic did _that _seem? _But _she had lots of good reasons. First, she'd been so busy that she hadn't had the time to do her homework, so she was catching up on homework, while also thinking up prom-theme ideas, as she knew she would have to start organising meetings and she had no idea what the theme would be. Trish chuckled to herself. How ironic was this? She used to be the girl who never committed to anything; she _had _been fired over 300 times in her life. But now, she was senior class president, she was on her way to Yale after graduation, and she was _committed _to this job!

And Ally! Ally used to be a walking nervous mess; I mean, the girl _chewed her hair _when she was worried, not to mention, her stage fright was so bad that she couldn't even perform a radio interview! Also, she used to get so nervous in front of Dallas; she would laugh too much and say weird things, and now she was _dating _the guy! So much had changed in two years...and most of it was due to Austin and Dez being gone.

Trish sighed. She hardly ever admitted it out loud, because she didn't want to upset Ally. But she missed Austin and Dez a lot. Especially Dez. She would _never _admit that out loud now; not over her dead body! And don't judge her; so maybe, she _did _like Dez a little...he was such a dork, and an idiot, but inflicting pain on him was her favourite past time, and _sometimes _they got along.

Sighing, she went back to her essay. Just as she finished the last word of the essay, her phone on the table buzzed loudly. Trish jumped, startled, and the pen jerked across the page, drawing a squiggly line across the paragraph. Seething in anger, Trish glowered at the phone. Who had the audacity to text her when she was writing an essay? She picked up the phone to reply to the text.

_From: Freckle Face_

**_I need to talk to you right away._**

Freckle Face was Dez. Figures _he _would be the one to ruin her essay. She remembered how pissed off she had been when he'd told her he was leaving. She spent around half an hour punching and kicking him, while fighting back angry tears. He'd simply let her, while explaining calmly why they couldn't tell Ally. It had scared the crap out of her, mostly because she'd never seen Dez look so serious before. It had also scared her because she had to lie to her best friend; something she'd never done before.

Sighing, she began to type a reply.

_Um, ok? Web-chat me tonight, dork._

_**No, I mean, I need to talk to you right NOW. I'm outside in the school parking lot.**_

_Seriously, Dez, stop winding me up. It's not funny :P_

_**Trish, I am being deadly serious. Please? I'm by the little blue car right at the end of the lot.**_

_Fine, I'm coming out. If I find you're not there, I will come over to California, and I will punch you in the face._

_**I know, Trish. But I AM here, promise ;)**_

Trish sighed and closed her phone. A part of her highly doubted the fact that the red-haired freak was just outside, but another part of her, (a part she refused to admit aloud) was only going because she hoped he _would _be there.

* * *

When Trish made it outside the school without being stopped once by annoying kids demanding anything from her, she made a beeline for the little blue car right at the end of the lot. Her heart lifted, and she scoffed as she saw a tuft of red hair from behind the car. He _needed _to work on his hiding spots. _But who cares; Dez is _here! Trying to mask her excitement as best as possible, she hurried over to the little blue car. Dez was crouched down on the floor, with his hands over his eyes.

"Um, what are you doing?" she asked, puzzled.

Surprised, Dez uncovered his eyes and looked up at her. "Ssh, I'm hiding! No one can know I'm here; I'm waiting for Trish!"

Trish sighed exasperatedly and kicked him in the shin. "You're such an idiot; I'm right here! And just because you can't see everyone else, doesn't mean they won't be able to see you!"

Dez stood up, towering over Trish's tiny height of 5 ft 2. A big grin spread across his face.

"Oh, it's you!" he exclaimed. "And that hurt by the way."

"What are you doing here, Dez?" Trish demanded, trying to fight back a smile. "Does Austin know you're here?"

"Well, I hope so, considering he sat next to me on the flight here," Dez replied. To anyone else, this would've sounded sarcastic, but Dez sounded genuinely concerned that his best friend might not know that he was here.

Trish rolled her eyes. "Well, where is he? And why are you both here? Ally is going to flip out!"

Dez's eyes widened. "No, Trish, you can_not _tell her."

Trish folded her arms. "You want me to lie to my best friend? I still haven't told her the truth about last time – you know, as in I knew you and Austin left before she did! She doesn't even know that you said goodbye to me; I can't lie to her again."

"Relax, Trish, you can't tell her because Austin wants to surprise her. And also, the paparazzi don't know he's here yet, and we need to keep it that way. Everyone thinks he's still in California – we came here on his private jet," Dez explained.

"Oh, boy..." she muttered. "Alright, I'll keep it a secret."

"Thanks, Trish," Dez sighed in relief. "I'll explain the plan to you later, but you should probably get back to school now. Can you meet me later – away from Ally?"

"Sure, she has rehearsals after school," she nodded. "Meet me at my place? Four o'clock?"

"Awesomesauce," Dez replied. "See you later, Trish."

As he turned to get in his car, Trish sighed and before she knew what she was doing, she threw herself at him and hugged him. Surprised, Dez awkwardly patted her back, before grinning and hugging her back. Trish broke away, embarrassed.

"If you tell anyone about that, I'll throat-punch you," she muttered darkly.

Dez chuckled to himself as he watched her walk back to school. But then he realised that she actually _would _punch him in the throat, so he should probably keep that to himself.


	7. Plans & Performances

School play rehearsals breezed by for Ally. She played all the right notes to all the songs, and as she watched the students act, she spoke the play silently in her head. She knew _all _of the lines; probably even more than the students playing the parts. Cecilia Swan (a perfect, stereotypical Barbie blonde head cheerleader, and total bitch) was playing Sandy, and a guy called Trent Ward was playing Danny. Ally didn't really know Trent; all she knew was that he was a much nicer guy than Cecilia, and for some reason, he was dating her. Who the hell _knew _why?

She'd gotten to know most of the cast and crew, and it turned out that they were a nice bunch of kids. The school play was open to all years, but it was the seniors and juniors who got all the main roles, while the others got the supporting roles.

"Great rehearsal today, guys," Mr Avalon, the Drama teacher, called out as the rehearsal came to an end. "You all did great – don't forget the dress rehearsal this Saturday, and make sure the date in your calendar is clearly circled for the actual play; which is when...?" he cupped his ear, waiting for the answer.

"May 17th," Ally chorused along with the others, before hastily ducking out of the auditorium and making her way home. As she walked, her phone buzzed, and she opened her phone to read the message from Dallas:

_Hi babe know ur performin 2nite but somethin came up. Wont b able 2 make it. Sorry babe Il make it up 2 u. Dallas xx_

Ally suppressed an annoyed growl at the text language. Don't judge her; she was just finicky about those things, and hated it when people texted her like that. Seriously, what was wrong with using the correct spelling and grammar in text messages? She began to type a reply.

_Oh, ok, don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow. Ally xxx_

Really, this should've annoyed her that her boyfriend couldn't make her performance. She searched within herself, trying to find something that objected to this; that was pissed off. But there was nothing. Shrugging it off, Ally walked into Sonic Boom and greeted her dad.

"Hey, sweetie," he called from the counter. "How was school? You ready to take over for your shift?"

"Sure," Ally nodded, trying to hide the tiredness in her voice. _Power through it – I AM A MACHINE, _she reminded herself internally.

"Great," Lester smiled. "Thanks, sweetie. I'm going out with Charlotte tonight – so don't wait up. Are you performing in the store this evening?"

"In an hour," she nodded. "Don't worry, I'll lock up."

"That's my girl," he kissed her forehead. "Good luck with your performance tonight. I'll see you later on, okay? Love ya."

"Love ya," she responded, shaking her head fondly as he bounded out the store. Ally glanced down at her phone. Where was Trish? Usually when Ally had rehearsals, Trish would meet her at Sonic Boom afterward. It was now five-thirty, and Trish wasn't here. Maybe she just got caught up, or something. She was actually out of a job at the moment – and it wasn't like her. She _had _been pretty busy lately, though. Ally opened her bag and pulled out her songbook, before flicking through it and finding the page where her songs for tonight were written. She was performing a short set; only two songs tonight. People actually liked her performances, and tended to stick around to watch them, which made her feel pretty good about herself, and even though it made a large audience, it made her feel proud and confident. If people wanted to watch her, then she had to be good, right?

Ally glanced down at her book again, and found herself touching Austin's necklace she was wearing under her shirt. She'd be performing a slower song with a gentle beat that she'd written a couple of weeks ago, called 'I Won't Give Up'. She wasn't sure _who _it was about, really, maybe a little about Austin? And then her next one, 'Go Your Own Way'...yeah, that was probably about Austin too. Okay, so what; she wrote songs about him sometimes! No biggie; all songwriters harnessed their own pain and emotions into songs, and that was all she had done.

"Ally!"

Surprised, she turned to see Trish hurrying down the stairs from the practise room, looking slightly flustered.

"Trish?" she walked around the counter and ogled at her in surprise. "What were you doing in the practise room?"

"Oh..." she shrugged. "Right. I got tired waiting for you, so I went upstairs to take a nap."

Ally eyed her doubtfully. "Really?"

"Really," she said smoothly, meeting her eye perfectly. Ally gave her a weird look, before deciding to drop it.

"Kay, well, sorry for keeping you waiting," Ally smiled apologetically. "Okay, so what do you think of these songs?"

Stifling a sigh of relief, Trish followed her friend back to the counter to give her opinion on the songs. Phase one of the plan; complete. Ally was totally oblivious as to what was going on, so all was going according to plan.

* * *

Austin paced the practise room nervously, raking his hands through his hair every so often. Dez simply sat, staring at Owen the cockatiel.

"My name is Dez," he said; his tone flat as he tried to get the bird to mimic him. "I think Dez is awesome. I want to marry Dez."

The bird simply fluffed its feathers, before turning away and pecking at its food. Dez huffed and pouted like a five year old, folding his arms.

"Austin, this bird is being really rude to me!" he complained.

Austin ignored him, simply continuing to pace. "What if she hates me? What if she thinks I'm mad at her, or something? Do you think I should've called first?"

These questions had been raging silently through Austin's mind ever since his father had dropped him off at the airport. He'd been quiet through the entire flight, while Dez had sat with a colouring book and crayons. As soon as his tour was over, Austin had suddenly craved Ally's presence; as in, his need to see her was even stronger, if that were possible, than before. Maybe it was because he promised to watch her graduate, and he knew she wouldn't be a senior for very long now. Besides, he also wanted to graduate _alongside _her. He wanted to be a senior with her too. So he'd simply told his manager, and his dad flat out that he wanted to come back to Miami, and he wouldn't take no for an answer. Surprisingly enough, his manager was cool with it; Austin had been a massive success, and deserved a break from the tour. His dad was fine with it too; and wanted nothing more than his son's happiness, so he'd gladly driven them to the airport. But now that Austin was actually here, all of these doubts were surfacing, and he was becoming a nervous wreck. If he had long hair, he would probably start to chew it.

"Austin, seriously, you're being an idiot," Dez said wisely. "Sure, she might be mad at you for a bit; let's be honest, you left her with no goodbye, so –"

"Dez!" Austin protested with a glare.

"My point being," he continued quickly. "Even if she _is _mad at first, she'll never hate you, Austin."

He sighed. "Thanks, Dez."

"Yup," Dez returned his focus to the bird. "Why won't it talk to me?" he muttered, glaring at it. Austin rolled his eyes and sank heavily into one of the chairs. Just knowing that Ally was only downstairs...she was so close, and he could simply run downstairs and see her if he wanted to...but that would draw some unwanted attention. Eventually, when he turned up for school tomorrow, he knew there would be chaos, as he had many teenage fan girls...not that that was a _bad _thing in some cases, but he really didn't feel like being bombarded with screaming girls who ripped his clothes, touched his hair and begged for personal belongings and autographs tomorrow morning. His mother was arranging a meeting with the principal tomorrow morning, to ensure that the students backed off a little and let him lead a close-enough-to-normal life. Austin breathed out heavily and stared longingly at the door...Ally was down there. _Snap out of it, _he shouted internally. He groaned. This would be a long night.

* * *

Ally eyed the audience nervously. Wow...what a turn out! Her stomach fluttered with butterflies, and she had a mad urge to run away. She was sitting on a stool on the makeshift stage in the store. A lot of the drama crew had turned up to watch her perform; which only increased her nerves. She glanced up, panic clear in her eyes as she found Trish sitting on the counter. Trish grinned and gave her a thumbs up. Ally attempted to smile back, before her hand involuntarily shot up to touch Austin's necklace around her neck. _I can do this, _she promised herself internally. _It's just a little audience._

"Hey, everyone," Ally called into the mic, feeling confidence surge through her as the crowd returned her greeting with clapping and smiling.

"Well..." she chuckled nervously. "I can't believe so many of you showed up...to watch me sing...in front of all of you..."

Trish rolled her eyes. "Just sing already!" she yelled, causing many people to jump in surprise.

"Right," Ally nodded, snapping out of her nervous babble. "I've only got a short set prepared for tonight, but this is a song I wrote a little while ago; it's called 'I Won't Give Up'. Let me know what you think." She began to play her guitar, and she immediately relaxed and began to sing.

_When I look into your eyes  
It's like watching the night sky  
Or a beautiful sunrise  
There's so much they hold  
And just like them old stars  
I see that you've come so far  
To be right where you are  
How old is your soul?_

As she sang, unbeknownst to her, Austin opened the practise room door a crack, and was able to watch her perform. He smiled as she sang, feeling his heart swell with pride. This was Ally! And she was amazing..._she was performing on stage! _When she said she was getting over her stage fright, she really wasn't kidding.

_I won't give up on us  
Even if the skies get rough  
I'm giving you all my love  
I'm still looking up_

_And when you're needing your space_  
_To do some navigating_  
_I'll be here patiently waiting_  
_To see what you find_

_'Cause even the stars they burn_  
_Some even fall to the earth_  
_We've got a lot to learn_  
_God knows we're worth it_  
_No, I won't give up_

As the song picked up, people began to sway and dance to the music. Austin beamed at the audience's reaction. They loved her; of _course _they loved her! She was amazing. Just looking at her...he'd missed her so much. It was taking all of his willpower not to go running down the steps and cheering her on loudly.

_I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily  
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make  
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use  
The tools and gifts we got yeah, we got a lot at stake  
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend  
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn  
We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in  
I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not  
And who I am_

_I won't give up on us  
Even if the skies get rough  
I'm giving you all my love  
I'm still looking up  
Still looking up._

_I won't give up on us  
God knows I'm tough enough  
We've got a lot to learn  
God knows we're worth it _

_I won't give up on us  
Even if the skies get rough  
I'm giving you all my love  
I'm still looking up_

Austin almost applauded along with the audience, but quickly stopped himself. Ally smiled happily as her audience clapped and cheered. For the next song, Ally needed the band to back her up. She'd already sorted this out, of course. There was a new band in town, who were looking for recognition. Sonic Boom's business had been improving significantly since Ally had started performing, so they'd been able to hire the band to help out when she needed them to.

"Thanks, everyone," she beamed. "This next song is called 'Go Your Own Way.'"

She nodded at the band, and they began to play. The song was upbeat, catchy, and involved more electric guitar, unlike her previous acoustic. Ally opened her mouth and began to sing.

_Loving you isn't the right thing to do  
How can I ever change things that I feel?  
If I could, maybe I'd give you my world  
How can I, when you won't take it from me?_

_You can go your own way_  
_Go your own way_  
_You can call it another lonely day_  
_Another lonely day_  
_You can go your own way_  
_Go your own way_

The audience began to cheer and dance along to the music. Ally could feel a wide smile playing across her lips, and she actually began to dance amongst the band on the stage as she sang the next lines.

_Tell me why everything turned around?  
Packing up, shacking up, is all you wanna do  
If I could baby I'd give you my world  
Open up, everything's waiting for you  
Ooooh_

_You can go your own way_  
_Go your own way_  
_You can call it another lonely day_  
_Another lonely day_  
_You can go your own way_  
_Go your own way_

During the instrumental break, Ally stepped aside, clapping along as the guitarists took solos on their guitars. The best thing about this song was that it gave them a chance to showcase their talent as well. Instrumental break over, Ally began to sing again.

_Hey!_

_You can go your own way_  
_Go your own way_  
_You can call it another lonely day_  
_Another lonely day_  
_You can go your own way_  
_Go your own way_  
_You can call it another lonely day_  
_Ooooooohhhhh_  
_Oooooohhhhh_

_Oooohhh_

_You can go your own way_  
_You can go, you can go_  
_Oooh_  
_You can call it another lonely day_  
_Call it another lonely day_  
_Yeah_

_You can go your own way_  
_Go your own way_

The whole store burst into applause, causing Ally to giggle ecstatically, slotting the microphone back into the stand. People who had been passing by had actually stopped to listen to her, and when she finished, they also clapped and cheered loudly.

"Thank you so much!" Ally smiled. "And let's hear it for the band! Let's give it up for Cactus Rose!"

The audience applauded the band, and the lead singer/guitarist of the band high-fived Ally.

"Nice work, Dawson," he grinned. She hugged and high-fived all of the band-members, who happened to be pretty hot. Some of the girls in the audience started asking for photos and autographs. Ally jumped down from the stage, and was immediately hugged by Trish.

"Ally, you were on fire!" she hollered. "Those songs were amazing!"

"Thanks, Trish," Ally smiled. "You have no idea how much I appreciate hearing you say that, and I just want to thank you for always –"

"Ooh-hoo, I gotta get me his number!" Trish cried, fluttering her eyelashes at the drummer of the band, before shooting off toward him.

"Being there for me," Ally finished her sentence grimly, but chuckled fondly after her friend.

"Hey, Ally." She turned to see Trent Ward smiling at her, with his hands in his pockets. Huh. She hadn't seen him walk in with the drama lot. She glanced around the shop quickly. Cecilia wasn't here though.

"Hey, Trent," she returned his smile.

"I just wanted to tell you that you were great up there," he told her earnestly. "I had no idea you could sing like that. How comes you're not singing in the play?"

Trent was a good-looking kid. He had ivory skin, and he was tall. He had dark, almost black hair, with bright blue eyes. But Ally wasn't romanticising him; heck, up until he'd signed up for the school play she'd thought he was only some football jock, but he was actually a talented, nice guy.

"Oh," she chuckled. "Thanks. I'm still getting used to not having stage fright, I guess. Small audiences like these I can handle, but singing in front of the whole school and faculty? I don't think I can do that just yet...maybe after a little more practise."

Trent looked confused. "But you're playing the piano, right?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "That's different...it's easier, almost. The audience can't see me."

"I guess," he replied. "But you're really talented, Ally. Anyway, I gotta go. Cecilia texted that she would call me back soon."

"Okay," Ally smiled. "Well, thanks for turning up."

"It's cool," he grinned. "See you in school."

Eventually, the shop cleared out, and Ally was able to lock up. Trish hung back, sitting on the counter fidgeting, while swinging her legs.

"Um, I don't mean to be rude, or anything, but Trish, what are you still doing here?" she enquired. "Are you gonna drive me back, or something? Because I don't mind walking; it's not a long way to go."

"No, I'll drive you," she said quickly.

"Thanks," Ally smiled. "Shall we leave, then?"

"Uh, you mean IT'S GO TIME?" Trish raised her voice loudly, and stared pointedly at the stairs leading to the practise room.

"Trish, what are you -?" Ally began, before stopping dead in her tracks and freezing up completely. The practise room door opened, and a guy stepped out onto the balcony. Ally's heart flipped as she saw him. Tall, with shaggy blonde hair and a nervous grin on his face. Her legs felt as if they were going to give way at any second, and she felt tears spring to her eyes. His gaze locked with hers, and his expression immediately became serious. Ally watched, still frozen, as he walked down the steps and halted to a stop in front of her.

"Hey, Ally," Austin said nervously, raking a hand through his blonde hair as his brown eyes met hers.

* * *

**A/N: cliffhanger! Sorry :) but hey, how about that double update? I do not own any of the songs used, and I know that both of those sonsg are sang by males but they were both done by females in Glee, so there's no reason why Ally couldn't sing them :)**

**Please review and let me know what you think - your reviews are what motivates me to write and I appreciate the time you take to write a comment xx**


	8. Returns & Roses

**A/N: woo, I am on a roll with this! This chapter was kinda sad to write, but I PROMISE, we are very close to the brightening chapters, so please, stick around! Oh, and thank you for all the lovely reviews; you guys encourage me to write, so thanks! :)**

* * *

"_Trish, what are you -?" Ally began, before stopping dead in her tracks and freezing up completely. The practise room door opened, and a guy stepped out onto the balcony. Ally's heart flipped as she saw him. Tall, with shaggy blonde hair and a nervous grin on his face. Her legs felt as if they were going to give way at any second, and she felt tears spring to her eyes. His gaze locked with hers, and his expression immediately became serious. Ally watched, still frozen, as he walked down the steps and halted to a stop in front of her. _

"_Hey, Ally," Austin said nervously, raking a hand through his blonde hair as his brown eyes met hers. _

Ally simply stared at him in shock, unable to say anything. Her throat had sealed up and tears were clouding her vision. Austin was watching her nervously, rocking back and forth on his heels. At that point, there was a crash from the practise room above, as Dez fell out the door and onto the balcony; whacking his head on the railing. Austin whipped around in surprise. Ally's tears spilled over, but thankfully, he wasn't looking, and she quickly wiped them away. Unfortunately, she only got all choked up as more tears filled her eyes.

"Dez!" Trish hissed. "Get down here!"

"Oh, right!" Dez scrambled to his feet and skipped down the stairs toward Trish, before he stopped in front of Ally. He didn't seem to notice her tears, and simply yanked her into a bone-crushing hug.

"It's good to see you, Ally," he said earnestly, pulling back and holding her at arm's-length. She didn't know what to say as he skipped past her; only to be grabbed by Trish who dragged him out of the store. She turned back to face Austin, who had resumed staring at her nervously.

"Ally, are you crying?" he asked anxiously.

She looked away, wiping away her tears. _Oh my God, could this really be happening? Austin was back? Why aren't I jumping for joy right now?_

"Ally, please say something," Austin begged.

His plea snapped her back to reality, and before she knew it, she'd launched herself at him. His eyes widened as she began to pummel his chest with her fists angrily.

"You – absolute – asshole!" she sobbed, punctuating every word with a punch of her fist. Austin didn't even try to stop her. He simply let her hit him, as he stared down at her sorrowfully. She released a dry sob, before flattening herself against the door and breathing out heavily.

"What are you doing back here?" she demanded breathlessly.

"I wanted to come back," Austin explained simply. "I've done everything I've wanted to do, and more, and I needed to see you before you graduate, Als."

"Do you have any idea what you've put me through?" Ally cried. "One minute, we're happy going to California together, and then you _leave with no goodbye?"_

"Ally, I'm sorry –"

"You're sorry?" she shook her head, looking away and pressing her hand to her temple. "Sorry doesn't even begin to make up for this, Austin!"

"Ally, what was I supposed to do? It wasn't easy for me either, and I tried to keep in touch with you, but you never replied!" he protested.

"I couldn't talk to you! You broke my heart!" she shouted. "I was prepared to drop everything and travel to California with you! And then you just go, leaving me with nothing but a necklace and a letter!"

"That was the problem!" Austin sighed. "You were willing to drop your life and follow my dreams! I left because I couldn't do that to you; I mean, don't you realise how selfish I was being? You may have been willing to drop everything for me, but I wasn't!"

"Right, yeah, I get it, you were doing it _for _me," Ally retorted harshly; not knowing where all this anger was coming from. "You thought you were doing the right thing."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean it was easy!" Austin said earnestly. "Leaving you was the hardest, most painful thing I will ever have to do in my life, Ally."

Tears fell down her cheeks as she spoke. "We said now and forever, Austin. We promised, and you lied."

"Ally," he whispered, as his heart ached.

"Just go, Austin. Please, I can't handle this right now," Ally said tiredly.

He sighed. "You can hate me, Ally, if it makes this easier, but I'm not ever leaving you again. It won't change how I feel."

She stared at him for a couple of moments, feeling tears continue to blur her vision. She'd spent two years missing him, needing him back, trying to move on...and now he was back, and she had no idea what to say, so she'd simply yelled the first things that came to mind. But seeing his sweet, innocent, hurt expression, she felt like breaking down. And she couldn't let him see that. Ally turned and ran from the store, out into the cool night air. She passed Trish and Dez who were waiting in Trish's car. They both called her name, but she didn't reply. Ally continued to run, allowing tears to wash down her cheeks as she ran further and further away from Austin Moon.

* * *

That evening, Austin lay on his bed; a trillion thoughts running through his mind. His mom had been so pleased to see him, but he didn't have the energy to be enthusiastic. Instead, he'd simply mumbled 'Ally', before hurrying up to his room, flopping on the bed and pulling the covers over his head. His mom had taken that enough as an explanation, and had simply said 'OK', before letting him go upstairs.

Austin sighed, feeling his throat seal up. He had known it would take some time for Ally to come around after what happened, but a part of him had just hoped that she would throw her arms around his neck and hug him tightly. As much as he appreciated that she had every right to be mad, a part of him was annoyed too. Did she really think it had been easy for him? And did she not understand that he'd done this for her?

A light tapping on his door brought him back to reality, and he resurfaced from his covers to see Trish standing in the doorway. He felt a little surprised. He hadn't expected her to come and see him.

"Can I come in?" she asked simply.

Austin nodded and kicked the covers off. He'd missed Trish an awful lot too. Even if she had been a pretty lazy manager, she'd been the best manager he'd ever had. And although she could be violent and scary, her hot temper was one of the things Austin found endearing about the short Latina. Trish sat herself on the edge of Austin's bed, glancing around his room.

"The last time I was in here, Dez squirted me with foam," she recalled. "And you tried to bribe Ally with a life-size chocolate version of you."

Austin chuckled as he remembered. "Yeah. I've missed you, Trish."

Trish smiled a little. "I missed you too, Austin."

Austin sighed. "I'm sorry, about what I did. Leaving you behind, forcing you to say goodbye to Dez, and getting you to lie to your best friend..."

"It's okay," Trish shrugged. "I totally understand why you did what you did, and Ally does too, she's just...mad."

"Do you think she'll ever forgive me?" he asked quietly.

Trish rolled her eyes. "Of course she will, you just need to talk to her. So why are you sitting here on your ass when you could be begging for her forgiveness?"

"What am I supposed to do Trish? She said she couldn't handle this right now; face it, I blew it. I blew my friendship with her," he sighed.

Trish punched him in the arm. "Shut it; that's crazy talk. You did NOT blow your chances with her. You left her once, right, and you can't leave her again, so get up off your ass and go and fix this!"

Austin blinked at her in surprise. "You're saying I should go over to her house?"

"Yes, and when you're there, don't take no for an answer! Just talk to her!" Trish urged.

Austin nodded, and stood up. "You're right, Trish. I have to go and make things right."

* * *

When Ally finally got back to her house, the first thing she noticed was Dez sitting there on the front porch, spinning a basketball on his index finger. As soon as he saw her, he jumped up and waved.

"Hey, Ally," he said, inspecting her face closely as she neared him; her expression surprised.

"Dez?" she hurriedly wiped away the rest of her tears. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Trish told me I should come and talk to you. I have no idea why, cos I'm usually bad at this sort of thing, but she scares me, so I decided to do as she says," he explained.

"Good choice," Ally commented, stepping past him to unlock the front door.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Dez asked; his tone clueless as he rocked back and forth on the heels of his shoes.

Ally turned back around to face him, leaning against the door. "Why is he back, Dez? In fact, why are you both back?"

Dez gave her a 'duh' look. "Because he loves you? Duh. You're all he ever talks about, Ally. And he wants to watch you graduate; he wants to be there for you. Leaving you wasn't easy for him, and now that he's back, it would be pretty cool if you were nicer to him."

Ally was about to protest, when she realised he was probably right. She sighed, resting her head against the window in the door.

"Maybe I was a little harsh on him," she admitted. "I don't know what came over me! I just...I missed him so much, and I guess I got a little angry, when really I should've been celebrating, but...I can't forget the facts, Dez. What he did hurt me, and I'm not going to forget that pain quickly."

Dez shrugged. "I'm not saying you should; all I'm saying is that you should give him a chance, instead of running away. Let him win you back."

Ally nodded. "You're right, Dez. You know, I've missed you. You can be so...weird at times, yet so smart other times, so thanks."

"It's cool," Dez replied. "Now, I'm gonna go. If Trish got through to Austin, that means he's probably on his way over, so I don't want to be here to make things awkward."

With that, he grabbed his basketball and began to spin it on his finger, as he walked away humming a tune under his breath. Shaking her head both fondly, and with confusion, Ally unlocked the front door and stepped inside. She yawned hugely, as she shut the door behind her. Man, she was tired...and hungry. It was now ten PM, and her dad wasn't back yet. Then again, she wasn't expecting him back for a couple of hours. Sighing, she made her way to the fridge and opened it. There was a pizza takeaway box from yesterday with a couple of cold cheesy slices left. Perfect. Ally grabbed the box and shut the fridge, before beginning to wolf down the pizza. Her thoughts strayed to Austin as she ate, and she touched his necklace. _Why was I such a bitch to him? _She wondered, feeling slightly guilty. But then another part of her just felt mad. He'd hurt her by leaving; in ways he would never understand. She had every right to be mad, right? But, she didn't plan on losing him as a friend either. _All I'm saying is that you should give him a chance, instead of running away. Let him win you back. _Dez's words rang through her mind. Okay...she would do that; she would give him a chance. _But I can't fall too fast for him. What if he has to leave again? Then what will I do? I have to take this slowly, and coolly...I can't get hurt like that again if I let my guard down too quickly._

A knock on the door brought her back to reality, and her stomach fluttered with nerves. _If Trish got through to Austin, that means he's probably on his way over. _Quickly wiping her mouth with a napkin, Ally crept over to the front door. Taking a deep breath, she opened it. Her heart sank. It wasn't Austin who was standing there.

* * *

Austin tried to calm his nervous breathing as he neared Ally's street. He'd bought a single, red rose with him that he'd nicked from his front garden; he knew Ally loved roses. Hopefully this, and his incessant apologies would be enough to win her over. His pulse fluttered in his throat, and he could feel butterflies in his stomach. Hold up. Austin paused in his tracks. _Butterflies?_ As in like, girly-crush butterflies? _Man up! I am Austin Moon, and I do NOT get butterflies. _Rolling his eyes, he began to walk briskly down the street to Ally's house. He approached the little white fence, and as he looked up to the house, his heart sank. Ally was standing on the front porch, but she wasn't alone. That creep Dallas was with her, and his arms were around her as he kissed her. Austin felt like someone had punched him in the heart. _How can she still be dating that temperamental jackass? _Austin sighed. There was no point in hanging around for this. Dejected, Austin dropped the red rose on the floor and began to walk home; his head hanging low and his heart sinking even lower.

When Ally walked Dallas over to the fence to say goodbye, she glanced down at the pavement. Lying there was a single, red rose.

* * *

**As usual, please leave a review and let me know what you think! xx**


	9. Arguments & Confessions

The next morning, Ally greeted her father and Charlotte who were in the kitchen. As usual, she was in a rush as she whirled around the house, picking up things she needed for the day, as well as hurriedly eating breakfast at the same time.

"What are your plans after school today, sweetie?" Lester asked.

She shrugged. "Just my shift at Sonic Boom, I guess. I don't have rehearsals, or anything."

Charlotte smiled. "That's good. I was wondering if you wanted to come dress-shopping with me."

Ally regarded her in surprise. "It's three weeks before the wedding and you haven't picked a dress yet?" she asked incredulously.

Charlotte chuckled. "Nope. I wanted the approval of a teenage girl; you seem to know what's in fashion nowadays. So, what do you say? Your dad said he'll be fine doing your shift at the store."

"Really?" Ally beamed at her father. "In that case, I'd love to."

"Great," she smiled. "We'll leave as soon as you get back from school."

The honking of a car horn from outside alerted her that Trish was here. Rolling her eyes, Ally grabbed her school bag, shouted a goodbye over her shoulder, and ran out the front door to stop Trish before she woke up the entire street. Trish beamed at her as she got in the car.

"So..." she grinned.

"So what?" Ally asked in confusion.

Trish rolled her eyes. "Are you going to make me beg? How did it go with Austin last night?"

Ally's stomach lurched, but she ignored it. "You mean before I left the store? Well, uh, I was sort of a bitch to him. I was yelling at him, and stuff."

"I know!" Trish said exasperatedly. "I meant afterward, when he came over to your house!"

Ally gave her a weird look. "What are you talking about? Austin never came over to my house – Dez did, and then afterward, Dallas came to ask how my performance went."

Trish's jaw dropped. "_He_ _didn't come over?" _she shouted incredulously.

"No," she said in surprise. "What's going on, Trish?"

Her friend sighed as they pulled into the school's parking lot. "I went over to see if he was okay, and then I told him to go over to your house. Looks like the little superstar chickened out."

"You told him to come over to my house? Why would you do that?" Ally demanded, getting out the car and swinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Duh – you guys have chemistry!" Trish rolled her eyes, also getting out of the car and scrutinising her friend. "You _have _to figure out your problems!"

"Trish, Austin and I do NOT have chemistry," she said firmly. "I have a boyfriend, remember?"

"Yeah, a boyfriend who couldn't be bothered to come to your performance last night," she shot back. "At least Austin was there."

"Austin left me," Ally retorted. "Remember? He left me for two years!"

"Yeah, Ally, I know. I was there," she shook her head, pushing her black curls behind her ears as she faced the school. "What's going on?"

Ally also turned to face the school, and immediately noticed something different. The atmosphere was different; everyone seemed more excited. Girls were flocking the entrance, checking their hair and makeup, while applying _more _makeup. Even some of the guys looked excited, while others were staring at the girls, disgruntled. What _was _going on? Ally watched as Trent and a girl called Jenna, who was also in the school play, walked past, talking excitedly.

"Jenna, Trent," Ally called. "What's going on?"

Jenna giggled. "Didn't you hear? Austin Moon is coming back to be a student here!"

As she said this, a whole group of cheerleaders walking by led by Cecilia Swan screamed and giggled excitedly, ruffling their pom-poms infuriatingly. Ally and Trish stared at each other, open-mouthed. What. The. Hell?

* * *

Austin stared nervously out the window down at the parking lot, where students were already looking excited at news of his arrival. He was in Principal Morrison's office, with his mom and Dez.

"Mr Moon, I'm sure you can appreciate that you are going to have many excited fan girls here at McReyan High," the principal said, smiling knowingly. "It will be a different atmosphere at this school I'm sure for a week or two, but you must know that eventually, the gossip will die down and you'll be treated like an ordinary student. For now, however, I think it would be best for me to escort you to your homeroom after the teachers have warned their students to stay as calm as possible when you enter. Does that sound alright to you, Austin, Ms Moon?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Thanks."

"That's fine," Mimi smiled. "Thank you so much, Principal Morrison. I really appreciate this."

He smiled at her. "Not at all, Ms Moon. Austin was a wonderful student before he left, and I'm sure now will be no different."

"Please, call me Mimi," she said, still smiling. Austin suppressed the urge to gag. _Seriously? She was hitting on the principal?_

"Do either of you lads have any questions, before we proceed?" the principal asked, tearing his gaze reluctantly from Mimi to look at Austin and Dez.

"Nope," Austin shook his head, but Dez spoke up.

"Yeah, actually. Have you seen my pet rat anywhere? He was in my bag, but I'm pretty sure he's not there anymore," he said seriously.

Principal Morrison stifled a smile. "I'll be sure to look out for him, Dez. Any _other _questions that don't relate to pet rodents?"

"Oh, well, no," the redhead shrugged, leaning back in his chair.

"Very well," the principal stood. "Let's go then."

* * *

When Ally entered her homeroom, everyone was buzzing about the arrival of Austin. Ally couldn't believe he was actually re-joining the school. A part of her felt happy; she'd missed having Austin around at school. Another part of her felt apprehensive, as they'd fought last night, and if Austin decided not to come over if Trish told him to, then he _must _be mad at her. Another part of her felt slightly jealous at the overwhelming amount of girls who were _already _fawning over him; and he wasn't even here yet. But, that was ridiculous. She was dating Dallas; if girls wanted to go nuts over Austin then that was their stupid choice, not hers, therefore it was none of her business.

Ally took her usual seat at the front while waiting for the teacher, trying to push these weird envious feelings out of her mind. She could hear Cecilia and her group of cheerleaders behind her, and as much as she tried to tune out their stupid voices, she couldn't help but listen in on what they were saying.

"I can't believe he's coming back," one of them gushed; Ally was sure her name was Emily. "Do you think he'd go out with me?"

"No way," another girl, this one called Sophie, scoffed. "He wouldn't want to date a brunette like you. He'd go for a rambunctious redhead like me."

Ally stifled a snort of laughter. Okay, _rambunctious redhead. _Whatever floats your boat. She was surprised the cheerleader even knew what rambunctious meant.

Cecilia laughed harshly. "Don't be ridiculous, Sophie. If any one of us is going to get into Austin's pants, then it's me. And I promise you, I _will_. By the summer, he will have definitely slept with me."

Ally clenched her fists. It was taking everything in her not to turn around and punch that girl in her perfect face. Ally felt surprised at herself for being so violent; usually she was very pacifistic, but this girl was a whole other matter. Cecilia had a boyfriend – and everyone but him seemed to know she'd cheated on him countless times. It made her so mad that someone as nice as Trent had fallen for an evil hag like Cecilia. If Austin as much as looked at Cecilia, Ally promised herself she would slap him. She would NOT let a sweet guy like him get lured in by such a bitch. Again, Ally felt surprised at herself. _Whoever Austin gets with is none of my business, _she reminded herself calmly. _I don't care._

The bell rang, breaking her from her thoughts. Their homeroom teacher, Miss Blaine bustled in, snapping at a few random students to put their phones away and face the front. Just as she was about to start reading names out, there was a knock on the door. Ally didn't look up, keeping her gaze fixed on her nails. But when a whisper of excitement and giggling swept across the class, she did look up. Her stomach flipped. Standing in the doorway next to Principal Morrison was Austin. His gaze immediately found hers. He regarded her coolly, before glancing around at the rest of the class. Ally felt frozen in her seat as she stared at him.

"Ah," Miss Blaine stood up and smiled. "Austin, what a pleasure to see you. Guys, I would like you to all welcome back Austin Moon; I'm sure most of you remember him back when you were all in the tenth grade."

Austin raised his hand in a greeting, causing many girls to squeal excitedly. He chuckled nervously and let his hand fall, before rubbing the back of his neck. Ally knew that was something he only ever did when he was nervous. But why was he nervous? He had nothing to be nervous about!

"Right, guys, we all know that Austin is a celebrity," Principal Morrison said. "He's a very talented guy, but, he _is _just like you. An ordinary guy. Treat him that way, and any violations of his personal space will be treated with detentions. You got it?"

Some girls looked disappointed, but everyone nodded anyway.

"Alright, I'll leave you to it then, Austin," Principal Morrison clapped his shoulder, before leaving the classroom.

"Take a seat anywhere, Austin," Miss Blaine said, sitting back down at her desk. Austin nodded, and made to sit in the empty chair next to Ally.

"Austin, come sit with me," Rambunctious Redhead said, patting the empty seat near her and the cheerleaders invitingly. Austin shrugged, and brushed past Ally to sit with them. Ally grit her teeth in anger, trying to act as though this didn't bother her. _Austin likes cheerleaders, that's no secret, _she reminded herself. _I guess I didn't think he would actually choose them over me._

Just as the bell rang, Ally grabbed her bag and attempted to hurry quickly out of the classroom, but Miss Blaine called her and Austin back. Cecilia, Emily and Sophie waited by the door, glaring at Ally who ignored them.

"Girls, go to your classes, please," Miss Blaine called. "Stalking counts as a violation of personal space."

Ally stifled a laugh at the indignant expressions on the three girls' faces, but they gave up and stormed off. Austin also chuckled quietly to himself as he watched them leave with amusement.

"Right, well, Austin here is your schedule, and it's pretty similar to Ally's," Miss Blaine said, handing him his timetable. His face brightened a little at this. "In fact, I'm pretty sure you're together first period. Now, I know you used to come to school here, but while you've been gone new buildings have been constructed and some classrooms have been swapped, so Ally, if you would be so kind as to show Austin where to go, that would be great."

Ally bit back a sigh. "Of course, Miss Blaine."

"Great," she beamed. "Have a nice day."

Taking that as a dismissal, Ally pulled her bag tighter over her shoulder and walked out of the classroom, Austin following her.

"Thank God it's you showing me around," he sighed as they walked. "I thought she would get some crazy fan girl to do it."

Ally ignored him pointedly, continuing to make her way to her first period English lesson. People stared as they went, grinning at Austin and telling him they were big fans. He grabbed Ally's hand, before yanking her to the side behind the lockers.

"Austin, what are you doing?" she snapped. "I'm trying to get to class!"

"Not until we talk," Austin said. "Look, I didn't like the way we left things last night. Can you please just forgive me so things can go back to the way they were?"

Ally glared at him. "Can we talk later? I am not going to be late for English because of you."

"No," Austin held onto her arm. "I need to talk to you, Ally."

"Well, why couldn't you have come over last night?" she snapped. "Trish told me you were going to, and then you just didn't bother to show up."

Austin let go of her arm and this time, he glared. "I did come over, actually, but you were a little _busy."_

"What's that supposed to -?" she began, before it dawned on her. "Right. Dallas came over last night."

"Yeah," he nodded, folding his arms.

"And that's my fault?" she demanded. "He didn't stay long; you could've waited if you were that desperate. But now _I'm _not going to wait, because I need to get to class."

"Why didn't you reply to my emails?" Austin asked stubbornly. "Or my texts, or my calls? You keep going on about how hard me leaving was for you, but you only made it worse, Ally!"

Ally's eyes narrowed in anger. "I wouldn't have expected you to understand that, Austin, although I _did _try and explain it."

"Yeah, I guess maybe I don't understand," Austin retorted. "All I know is that I missed you more than anything, and it killed me not hearing from you."

"Don't try and blame this on me!" she snapped. "Don't turn it on me! You confused the _hell _out of me, Austin! And you wouldn't understand the pain you caused me by leaving!"

"Well, then make me understand!" he shouted. "Go on! Explain it to me!"

Angrily, Ally pushed him, but she might as well have been trying to push a brick wall. She was a whole head shorter than him, and through his t-shirt she could definitely see the outline of abs. She continued to push him and hit him, feeling some of her anger evaporate as she did so. _So much for being a pacifist, _she thought.

"Is that all you got?" Austin taunted. "You fight like a guinea-pig."

"Shut up, Austin!" she hissed, stepping back.

Austin sighed. "Ally, every time I sent an email and you didn't reply, my stomach started hurting, you know, like that pain you get when you're really hungry? Ah, man, what's the feeling..."

"Emptiness," she whispered.

"Yeah, that," he nodded. "And every time I called you and I heard your voice on the voicemail thing, that hurt too. You know, I re-wrote that letter for you at least fifty times. I had no idea what to say."

Ally exhaled tearfully. "I was so mad at you, Austin. And I was angry because I loved you, and missed you, and hated you for making me feel like that. So, that's why you leaving caused me so much pain, because without you...I felt like a part of me was missing. And I didn't reply to any of your calls, because I knew it would hurt too much to hear your voice. I missed _you _more than anything."

Austin stared at her, his eyes filling with tears. Ally looked anywhere but his face, trying not to let her tears fall.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Austin and Ally turned to see a teacher walking toward them. Ally stopped herself from face-palming. It was Mr Irkwood, the school's deputy head. He was one of those teachers who loved it when their students got in trouble, because he loved the satisfaction of punishing them. He was also one of those teachers who would never marry and probably still lived with his mom, who cooked for him and picked his outfits. And unfortunately, he wasn't one of Ally's teachers, so he wouldn't have known what a good student she was, and that this was just a one-time thing. Ally suddenly realised that she and Austin had been standing there alone in the corridor, shouting and fighting with each other. The bell had rang ages ago, which meant classes had already begun.

"Oh, balls," Austin muttered.

"That's right, Mr...Moon, isn't it?" Mr Irkwood smirked. "And Miss Dawson too, I see."

Ally was frozen, unable to speak. She _never _got in trouble in school! What was wrong with her?

"It looks like you're both out of class, as well as fighting in the corridors," he glanced over at Ally. "Yes, Miss Dawson, I saw that. And as heart-warming as your little confessions were, I'm afraid you are still in trouble."

Austin glared. "You were eavesdropping on us?"

Mr Irkwood looked nonplussed and he ignored that comment. "I will see you both in detention after school; one hour each for a week. The drama department needs help painting props for the school play, which I believe Miss Dawson is involved in, already. You can show Mr Moon the ropes then."

"A week?" Austin's mouth fell open. "Are you kidding me?"

"Would you like me to make it two weeks, Mr Moon?" he asked.

Ally quickly dug him in the ribs to stop him from replying. He simply grunted in pain, and shook his head grimly.

"Good. Now go to class the both of you, before I do add another week," he said, before turning on his heel and striding off. Ally hurried off to class, suppressing her tears and trying not to think about the conversation she'd had with Austin.

* * *

**A/N: I kept getting emails throughout the day from fanfiction notifying me of all these lovely reviews, so I knew I HAD to post another chapter :) thank you for the reviews, and please let me know what you think xx**


	10. Smiles & Forgiveness

When Ally entered her English classroom with Austin only a couple of paces behind her, everyone turned to stare at them in total surprise. Mrs Heathers glanced up from the extract she was reading, and simply gestured for them both to take their seats, before she continued reading. Ally hurried to take her usual seat next to Trish; feeling about twenty gazes following her as she did. Dez had sat at the desk behind her and had saved a desk for Austin, who also sat down. The cheerleaders were all glaring daggers at Ally, who groaned inwardly as she saw Dallas also glaring at her, and then at Austin.

"Eyes on your own books, please," Mrs Heathers said sharply. The kids quickly turned back to face their books. Ally hurriedly grabbed her copy of the book out, and turned to the correct page. She'd already pre-read it anyway, but she'd do anything to keep her mind off the whispering and the looks. Trish slid a note toward her, and sighing, Ally read it.

_What the hell was that all about? Where were you?_

Ally quickly scribbled a reply note. _I'll tell you later._

Trish sighed and left it at that, turning back to her book. Ally could feel Austin's gaze on her as she read. A single tear slid down her cheek, which she ignored. Why did this have to be so complicated?

* * *

Later on, at lunch, Ally hid in the auditorium, backstage with her songbook. Dallas was furious with her, and hadn't spoken with her since this morning's English class. She'd decided not to try and talk to him, but all the looks and the whispering surrounding her was killing her. So she'd escaped to the auditorium where she was able to evade them.

Ally sat at the piano, feeling a melody in her mind. Her fingers slid over the keys, making a beautiful melody that she already loved. Eagerly, she grabbed her songbook and began to write lyrics feverishly down.

"Watching the minute hand," she sang softly to herself, scribbling as she sang. "Frozen solid, not moving...still believe we can, but we're afraid of losing..."

* * *

Austin was sitting in the cafeteria with a bunch of cheerleaders and jocks. He'd actually been looking for Ally, to apologize for getting her in trouble earlier on. But, he'd been grabbed by that redhead – Sophie, wasn't it? – so without any other option, he'd sat with them. He'd tried to pay attention to what they were talking about, but his mind kept wandering back to a certain small brunette who he hadn't spoken to since this morning.

At that moment, Trish stormed over to their table and glared at Austin, ignoring the dirty looks she received from the cheerleaders. Austin noticed that she was followed by Dez, who was holding a stack of flyers in his hands. From here, Austin could see they read MISSING RAT. He privately rolled his eyes. His friend was so weird.

"Austin, I need to talk to you RIGHT NOW," Trish snapped.

One of the cheerleaders, Marianne, glowered at Trish. "Why would he want to talk to you, hobbit?"

Austin was about to defend her, but he really didn't need to, as Trish cracked her knuckles threateningly.

"You do NOT want to mess with me, bitchlet," she retorted, snatching the flyers from Dez who protested. "Or I will shove these so far up your butt that you'll be sneezing paper balls for the rest of your life. Got it?"

Austin's eyes widened, however, many of the cheerleaders simply sniffed with derision and turned away. Huh. Perhaps these sort of threats were common where Trish was concerned. Honestly, he didn't think she had it in her to say stuff like that. Perhaps she was just _really _pissed off right now.

"I'm coming," he stood up, afraid of the consequences if he didn't. "I'll, uh, catch you guys later."

The girls tittered appreciatively, while some of the more decent jocks nodded and smiled, as the meaner ones simply ignored him. Nodding, Austin followed Trish out of the cafeteria. Dez followed them slowly, pinning up flyers as he went and handing them out to random kids.

As soon as they were out on the courtyard, Trish punched Austin in the chest.

"Ow!" he yelped, scowling down at her. "Why does everyone keep hitting me?"

"Because you're an idiot!" Trish replied agitatedly. _"Dios mio..." _she muttered in Spanish.

"Whose mio?" Dez asked, perplexed.

Trish ignored him and rounded on Austin. "Why didn't you go to Ally's last night?"

Austin sighed. "I did, but Dallas was already there and I didn't want to stick around to watch them play tongue tennis."

She grimaced. "You need to step-up your game if you're gonna win her back. And getting her a detention every day for a week isn't a good way to start!"

"What am I supposed to do, Trish? She finally explained why she was so upset with me for leaving, and I have no idea what to do," he exhaled.

"You keep saying that, when the answer is so damn clear!" Trish snapped. "You need to connect with her on the one thing you both love more than anything! Music! You need to sing to her, damn it!"

Austin had never seen Trish look so worked up before. "Trish, is everything okay?"

"What?" she shot back. "Yes; why do you ask?"

At that point, a big, booming, but female voice called across the courtyard. "Dezzy-roo!"

All three of them turned to see Mindy walking – or stomping; the line separating the two was very blurry with this girl – over to them, her gaze fixed on Dez. Dez waved weakly, shooting Austin a pleading look. Trish watched with a sour expression as Mindy pulled Dez into a bone-crushing hug. Literally; Austin was pretty sure he heard Dez's ribs cracking in protest.

"Hi, Mindy," Dez said; his voice rising in pitch as he tried to conceal the pain.

"Dezzy-roo, I got you something," Mindy cooed in a baby-voice, before she produced a little cage from her massive purse. Austin peered closer to see a little, white hairy rodent in the cage.

"It's a rat," Dez said sadly. "I miss my rat...he was so cute, with grey fur and a little pink nose..."

Mindy laughed easily. "I know, silly. Here he is," she pulled _another _cage from her bag; this time with a grey rat inside. Austin was pretty sure that _wasn't _Dez's rat; but he hadn't even known Dez had a rat in the first place, so.

"Norman!" he proclaimed in delight, taking the cage from her and cradling it in his arms. "You found him!"

"Let's go, Dezzy-roo," Mindy said delightedly, grabbing his arm and dragging him away. Trish glowered after them, and Austin was pretty sure if she was a cartoon character, steam would be flying from her ears.

"So, uh, I need to sing to her," Austin said, trying to avert Trish's mind from Mindy. Clearly, it was bothering her, but he didn't ask why. He knew Trish would probably beat him into tomorrow if he so much as _hinted _that Trish liked Dez a bit more than she let on.

"Yes," Trish turned back to face him, before chuckling slightly. "Remember when we were both working at the Melody Diner?"

"Oh, yeah, we had to sing to the customers at all times," he recalled. "And I wrote a song for Cassidy that came from my heart..." his eyes widened. "I got it! Trish, you're amazing!" he sang to her, tugging the short girl into a hug.

"Don't sing to me," she grumbled, although he could hear the smile in her voice as she attempted to push him off her.

"Trish...I love you, Trish," he sang mockingly, as she began to walk briskly away from him, covering her ears. "Thank you, Triiiiissssshhhh!" he drew out her name in a long, perfect note, before miming a guitar solo at the end. "Ni-ni-ni-noww!"

Many people around him began to applaud, and he grinned, feeling totally buzzed. He had a study period next, and then the detention with Ally. Perfect. That gave him one hour to write a song for her.

* * *

At the end of the day, Ally quickly texted Charlotte to tell her she would be late back, but not to cancel because she still wanted to shop with her. Anything to cheer her up at this rate; and she was pretty sure her spirits would lift as soon as she saw all those pretty dresses and the glowing bride-to-be's in the shops.

Ally made her way to the auditorium where the detention was being held. Mr Avalon was there, along with the other students also in detention, and he grinned as she walked in.

"So, I hear you have detentions every day of this week," he chuckled as she approached him. "Mr Irkwood caught you out of class?"

"Yes," Ally groaned.

He chuckled again. "I did try and get your punishment lightened, but he wouldn't listen to me. But never mind, the more the merrier, and the quicker this all gets done. Now, I've set you up with some light work today, as I know you and Austin didn't _really _deserve the punishment you got," he lowered his voice as he said that, before raising it again. "You'll both be painting Rydell High School banners," he led her over to the stage, where lying on the floor was a long, plain piece of card, with the name of the school sketched on in pencil. "Here's the red paint, and a brush," he handed them to her. "Get to work, and the hour will fly by."

"Thanks, Mr Avalon," Ally sighed, rolling up her sleeves and beginning to paint. As she worked, she wondered where Austin was. Just as she thought this, a rumbling across the stage caused her head to snap up. Austin was pushing the piano across the stage, with a guitar attached to a strap around his body. There were also a couple of kids following him, and Ally watched as one of them sat at the drums, one at the piano and the other picked up a bass guitar. Austin smiled at Ally, while lots of the other students stopped painting to see what was going on.

"Ally, there are some things I forgot to say to you as soon as I saw you yesterday in Sonic Boom," he said. Ally quickly glanced over at Mr Avalon, who clearly, was pretending to be busy organising scripts. She could feel a blush creeping to her cheeks as some girls giggled, and other boys wolf-whistled. She glanced back at Austin, shaking her head frantically.

Austin simply grinned. "This is a song I wrote for you. It's called 'Smile'."

He nodded at the pianist, who began to play a light, happy melody. The bass joined in, along with the drummer who played a steady beat. Eventually, Austin began to strum the guitar, walking toward her with a grin on his face as he began to sing.

_You're better than the best  
I'm lucky just to linger in your light  
Cooler than the flip-side of my pillow, that's right  
Completely unaware  
Nothing can compare to where you send me  
Lets me know that it's okay (yeah, it's okay)  
And the moments when my good times start to fade_

_You make me smile like the sun, fall outta bed  
Sing like a bird,  
Dizzy in my head  
Spin like a record,  
Crazy on a Sunday night  
You make me dance like fool,  
Forget how to breathe  
Shine like gold,  
Buzz like a bee  
Just the thought of you can drive me wild  
Oh, you make me smile_

Austin held his hand out to her as he sang, and smiling, Ally allowed him to pull her up. The other kids were clapping along with the music, but Ally simply stared at Austin as he continued to sing

_Even when you're gone  
Somehow you come along __just like a flower pokin' through the sidewalk crack  
And just like that  
You steal away the rain  
And just like that_

_You make me smile like the sun, fall outta bed  
Sing like a bird,  
Dizzy in my head  
Spin like a record,  
Crazy on a Sunday night  
You make me dance like fool,  
Forget how to breathe  
Shine like gold,  
Buzz like a bee  
Just the thought of you can drive me wild  
Oh, you make me smile_

_Don't know how I lived without you  
'Cuz everytime that I get around you  
I see the best of me inside your eyes  
You make me smile  
You make me dance like fool, forget how to breathe  
Shine like gold, Buzz like a bee  
Just the thought of you can drive me wild  
_

Austin grinned at her, stepping closer as he sang the last chorus.

_You make me smile like the sun, fall outta bed  
Sing like a bird,  
Dizzy in my head  
Spin like a record,  
Crazy on a Sunday night  
You make me dance like fool,  
Forget how to breathe  
Shine like gold,  
Buzz like a bee  
Just the thought of you can drive me wild  
Oh, you make me smile_

He finished, and all the students in the room burst into applause. Austin grinned, taking his guitar off and placing it gently on the ground, before smiling at her.

"So, what did you think?" he asked nervously.

Ally smiled. "Austin, I can't believe you wrote that...it was lovely."

"So..." he rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "Does that mean you'll forgive me?"

Ally's eyes darted around the room self-consciously, to see everyone waiting earnestly for her reply. They didn't even look ashamed when they noticed that she was looking at them. She glanced back at Austin, who was still rubbing his neck. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed his hand and tugged it down.

"You're gonna get a massive red patch if you keep doing that," she told him with a smirk.

"Ally!" he cried exasperatedly. "Come on, you're driving me crazy!"

Ally giggled. "Yes. I'll forgive you." And with that, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly; pressing her face against his chest. Smiling, Austin encircled her small body in his arms and held her close. The auditorium burst into applause again, and laughing self-consciously, Ally broke away from Austin.

"Hey, lovebirds," Mr Avalon called. "I don't see much painting!"

Everyone immediately got back to work, but when Ally glanced over at Mr Avalon, she could see a smile shadowing his lips. She and Austin sat down on the floor and began to paint. As they worked, the both happened to glance up at the same time. Their eyes met, and Ally simply smiled. He grinned back at her; the ecstasy clear on his face. He didn't care how corny it sounded; this right here was the happiest he had ever been in his life.

* * *

**A/N: thank you so much for the wonderful reviews, please continue to leave me feedback, you have no idea how much I appreciate it.**

**I do not own the song used, which was Smile by Uncle Kracker, and I don't own Austin & Ally (obviously). :)**


	11. Dresses & Late Night Visits

The hour in the detention flew by for Ally. She spent the whole time chatting to Austin, as if he had never left, and as if they hadn't been yelling and crying at each other. They were like the two pieces of a jigsaw; they just fit together and worked well together. They laughed, joked, exchanged song lyrics, chatted about life, school, graduation, prom, the play, and everything. He told her all about California, while she told him about her birthday coming up in two weeks, and the wedding which was coming up in three weeks. She immediately invited him to the wedding, and delighted, he accepted. Eventually, Mr Avalon was calling them to remind them that they could leave.

"So," Austin said, standing up and picking up his bag. "What're your plans now?"

Ally smiled as they walked out of the auditorium. "I'm going dress-shopping with Charlotte. You know, for the wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses."

Austin was about to reply, when the pair of them walked straight into Dallas, who was obviously heading to the auditorium on his way back from football practise. His jaw tightened when he saw the pair of them together.

"What are you doing with _him_, Ally?" he demanded, before she even had a chance to say anything.

"Dallas, he is my _friend," _Ally sighed tiredly. "Look, can we talk later, please? I'm going to be late – I'm going shopping."

Dallas shook his head. "No, let's do this now, Ally."

Austin regarded Dallas with dislike. "Didn't you hear her? She said she's going to be late."

Before Dallas could reply, Ally quickly grabbed Austin's arm. "Austin, it's okay. I'll talk to him now, it's fine."

He sighed, eyeing Dallas with mistrust, before glancing back down at Ally. "Call me when you get back, okay?"

She smiled, relieved that she could so easily do this now if she wanted. "Sure."

Dallas seemed annoyed at this, but he said nothing as Austin glared at him pointedly, before walking away. Ally watched him go, feeling an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach. She didn't want him to go. She'd let him go way too easily last time, and he'd gone all the way to California. _Relax, Ally. Austin's here to stay; you can talk to him later._

"Ally?" Dallas said irritably, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Sorry, I zoned out," she said, snapping back to reality. "What is it that you want to talk about, Dallas?"

"Uh, what the hell you were doing with him before English class?" he snapped. "You were late, and you were with _him!"_

Ally sighed. "We just got into an argument, that's all, and I guess we lost track of time."

"Well, it doesn't look like you were arguing from what I saw just now!" Dallas retorted.

Ally was beginning to get fed up of this. "What did you see, Dallas? Huh? I'll tell you what you saw: you saw two friends, who haven't seen each other in a while, _talking! _Just talking; nothing else, not even hugging. God, what is wrong with you? Every time you see me with him you get all up in my face; immediately assuming something more is going on! Will you just lay off a little? Why can't you just trust the fact that I'm going to be loyal to you, and I would never cheat on you?"

A muscle in Dallas's jaw was working furiously as he glared sulkily at his shoes, before he scowled at her.

"Because I see the way you look at him," he snapped. "You've always looked at him like that; right before he left and still now. And I see the way he looks at you."

Ally sighed tiredly. "Dallas, that's ridiculous. I want to be with _you, _not Austin, or any of those other guys. I mean, come on, I've liked you forever. Please, just believe me when I say that I want to be with you."

Dallas also sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "You're right. I'm sorry." He kissed her; a little too passionately for her liking. She kissed him back a little, trying to pull away slightly. But as she pulled away, he seemed to hold her tighter, pushing her up against the wall and holding her in place with his hands. She was able to break her lips away and swerve her head to the right, but he only continued to kiss her neck.

"Dallas..." she pressed her hands to his chest, attempting to push him off. "I have to go, remember, I'm going to be even later than I already am..."

He ignored her, one of his hands taking her face and pulling her mouth back to his. She _did _like kissing him though...but a part of her felt...wrong. Austin's face flashed through her mind, and she quickly broke her lips away from his, shocked at herself.

"Babe, what are you doing?" he mumbled, caressing her cheek with his spare hand.

"I have to go," she insisted stubbornly, shocked at how guilty she felt. Wait...guilty for thinking about Austin, or guilty for kissing Dallas? Wait, what? Ugh, why should she feel guilty?

"I'll call you later," she muttered, before running out of the school and out into the fresh air. Charlotte was waiting for her in the car, and thankfully, Ally hurried toward the car. This was what she needed...a stress-free shopping trip where she wouldn't have to think about boys!

* * *

"You okay, Ally?" Charlotte asked, as they pulled up outside the mall. "You've been awfully quiet the whole drive."

"Oh, have I?" she laughed nervously, getting out of the car and shutting the door. "Sorry, I guess my mind's just been a little preoccupied."

"Boy trouble?" Charlotte guessed, locking the car and beginning to walk. Ally fell into step easily beside her; regarding her in surprise.

"Yeah, exactly that," she replied. "How did you guess?"

Charlotte shrugged. "I just know that face. I've done work as a teacher _and _a babysitter; I'm pretty good at reading girls' emotions."

Ally sighed, wondering if she could confide in her...confide what? There was nothing going on, right? Then why did she feel so out-of-sorts about kissing Dallas? And why was it that when her mind drifted to Austin, her heart skipped a beat and she felt a flutter of butterflies in her stomach?

"I just...I'm just a little...confused right now," she said carefully.

Charlotte nodded. "You'd prefer not to talk about it?"

Ally smiled gratefully. "Yeah."

She simply shrugged and grinned. "Sure. Now, here we are. This is my favourite boutique store for wedding dresses," she gestured to the little shop. It was called _Bella's Bridal Boutique. _Ally could see inside there were tonnes of beautiful brides' and bridesmaids' dresses displayed around the store, and there was a friendly-looking lady at the counter. Ally smiled, thankful for the distraction as Charlotte pushed the door open. A little bell chimed somewhere in the shop to announce their entrance, and the shop-keeper glanced up from her book, dog-eared the page and then smiled welcomingly.

"'Afternoon, ladies," she beamed. "How can I help you?"

Ally guessed this was Bella, and smiled. "We're just looking for a wedding dress for my future step-mom," she shot a warm grin at Charlotte. "And some bridesmaid dresses for her bridesmaids."

Bella grinned. "Absolutely. Would you like to simply browse for now, or would you like my help?"

Charlotte and Ally exchanged looks, before Charlotte smiled. "What do you think, Als?"

"I think we're gonna need all the help we can get," she admitted with a rueful smile. "I'm not very good at shopping."

Bella beamed. "Perfect. So we'll start with the silhouette of the dress..."

Eventually, Ally, Charlotte and Bella had narrowed the silhouette of the dress to the 'Princess' style. That narrowed them down to sixteen dresses in the store. They ruled out the fact that Charlotte didn't want a sweetheart neckline, or a strapless dress, which narrowed them down six dresses. She tried on a beautiful, embellished dress with halter-straps, but realised it didn't quite hang right. So they ruled out the halter-strap dresses. Bella brought out glasses of wine for the ladies, and fizzy lemonade for Ally, as well as a large tray of milk chocolates after an hour, and they still hadn't decided on a dress yet.

"All of these dresses are beautiful, Bella, but I just want something simple, you know?" Charlotte confessed. "Not something I'm going to be uncomfortable in, or something I'll be tripping over...just something simple and elegant."

Ally suddenly remembered a dress she'd seen at the very back of the store, partially hidden behind the gorgeous ball-gown silhouette dresses. She quickly stood and hurried to the back, gently moving the ball-gown out the way to reveal the one she'd been looking for; all wrapped up in transparent, protective plastic. She took it down and brought it back over to Charlotte and Bella.

"What do we have here?" Bella grinned and examined the dress. "Fabric: white taffeta; circle jewelled neckline, princess silhouette, ruched in at the waist; short sleeves, a flowing skirt and beautiful bead and sequin appliqué embellishment..." she regarded Charlotte excitedly. "Do you want to try it on?"

Charlotte eyed the dress in admiration. "It _is _beautiful...alright, then."

She took the dress into the changing room and closed the door behind her. Bella smiled and sipped her wine.

"So, how old are you, Ally?" she asked conversationally.

"I'm turning 18 in two weeks," she replied, smiling.

"Ooh, very exciting," she grinned. "So you'll be leaving school soon too...what are your plans after you graduate?"

Ally's smile faded. "Well, I applied to Julliard and some other music schools in the state...and I haven't heard back yet."

Bella smiled encouragingly, squeezing her hand. "You'll hear back eventually, Ally. Acceptance letters can take a while to get here sometimes; don't you worry."

At that moment, Charlotte opened the door and stepped out, a big smile on her face. Ally could feel herself grinning like a maniac too. Ally had always thought Charlotte was a pretty lady...she was only a couple of inches smaller than Lester, and she had long, blonde hair with big, green eyes. And for a woman of thirty-eight she looked years younger, but in this dress she just looked...radiant. The dress was perfect, and all three of them knew it.

"I'll take it," Charlotte beamed confidently. "I know this is the one."

Ally and Bella high-fived happily with a relieved laugh. Finally! But then Ally remembered one more thing...

"Now we just have to find the bridesmaid dresses," she smirked.

Surprisingly, it didn't take too long to find bridesmaid dresses. To go with the colour scheme of the wedding, Ally and Charlotte had decided on simple v-neck, knee-length red chiffon dresses with ruched waists and flowing skirts. Ally tried hers on, and loved it, so Charlotte simply ordered another seven for the other bridesmaids, who would pick them up at a later stage.

With their dresses, Ally and Charlotte left the store with cheery goodbyes to Bella. It was now six o'clock in the evening, so they put the dresses safely in the car and Charlotte took Ally to the local Chinese restaurant. They bought some Chinese food to go, and a massive tub of ice cream; Charlotte letting Ally pick the flavour of fruity mint-swirl. When they got back home, they got changed into their pyjamas, grabbed their food and watched a film together on the couch. Ally had sent a quick text to Austin; telling him she was back and that she would call later. She smiled at Charlotte, stretching her legs out gloriously.

"Thanks for today, Charlotte. I had a great time, and it really helped me get my mind off things," she said.

Charlotte smiled. "You're welcome, Ally. I had a great time too, and thank _you _for helping me find my dress."

Ally simply grinned and turned back to watch the movie. She loved this; just hanging out with Charlotte. Since her mom had left her when she was five, she had missed out on all these sorts of mother-daughter things, and it felt nice to have that feeling so many girls had every day with their moms.

The front door opened, and Lester walked in, wiping his feet on the doormat and smiling cheerily at the two of them.

"How are my two favourite girls?" he grinned.

"Pretty good," Ally called, at the same time as Charlotte said "We're fine!" Lester squeezed on the sofa next to them, simply helping himself to Ally's spoon of ice cream, laughing at her disgruntled expression.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed now," she said, standing up. "Good night, guys." She kissed her father's cheek, and hugged Charlotte with a smile.

"Good night," they both called.

As soon as Ally was in her bedroom, she grabbed her phone, flopped onto her bed and dialled Austin's number.

"Hey, Als," he answered happily on the first ring. He took her by surprise by sounding so happy and cheerful. For some unknown reason, a lump formed in her throat and she sniffled. "Ally? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied with a smile. "Just a little tired, that's all."

"Did you have a good time?" he asked. But Ally didn't reply. This wasn't enough...she suddenly had a mad, desperate urge to see him. She didn't know why, though. All she knew was that while she'd been kissing Dallas, she'd thought of Austin, and curiosity was burning inside of her. She just wanted to see him; was that such a crime?

"Austin, can I see you?" she asked abruptly.

Surprised, he chuckled. "Yeah, of course. I'll be at school tomorrow, you know I will."

"No, I mean..." she blushed. "I mean right now."

"Of course, I'll be right over," he promised, before hanging up. Smiling, Ally grabbed her songbook, a pen and a thick, knitted blanket. She then hurried downstairs, past her dad and Charlotte in the living room; the door had been closed. Ally tugged on a pair of slipper boots and made her way outside, closing the front door behind her. She sat down on the porch swing, pulling the blanket over her, even though the night air was warm. She then turned to the song in her book which she'd started earlier on. So far, she had this:

_Watching the minute hand  
Frozen solid not moving  
Still we believe we can  
But we're afraid of losing  
Watching from over here  
Its hardly worth competing  
I'm almost out of here  
While breaking a heart that's beating  
Just as I start giving up  
I'm not backing up_

She imagined the melody in her mind as she wrote down new lyrics, singing them softly under her breath.

_Run into the light  
Get out of your own way  
Not afraid to fight  
Believe in what you say  
I'll hold on till the night_

She tapped her pen thoughtfully to her chin, and immediately, new lyrics came to her quickly. For her, music just came so naturally, and it was times like these when she was so grateful for this.

_Hanging by a thread  
I'm not scared to let go  
Thoughts inside your head  
That creep up to get you  
I believe this is right  
So I'll hold on til the night_

A car pulling up outside her house brought her attention back to reality. It was a simple, blue vintage Bug that she'd never seen before. When Austin got out of the car, she immediately smiled, feeling happier already. Her heart thrummed a little faster as she saw him, and inexplicably, she felt butterflies flutter in her stomach. _Why do I feel like this? _She wondered. _It's just Austin! _

He grinned and jogged up the porch steps. She smiled, placing her book down and standing up.

"What? No shiny Porsche for the superstar?" Ally teased, gesturing to the car.

Austin chuckled. "I couldn't bring my car here, so I borrowed my mom's. You okay, Ally? You sounded really weird over the phone."

"I'm fine," she assured him. "I just wanted to see you, that's all. I've missed you, Austin."

He smirked, but his eyes were gentle. "Since this afternoon at the detention, or...?"

She playfully hit him. "Since you've been gone, dummy. And...I want to apologize, Austin."

"What? Why?" he asked, bewildered.

"For not replying to your calls, your emails, or your texts..." she exhaled. "For ignoring you."

Austin pulled her into a hug, and smiling, Ally wrapped her arms around his middle.

"I get it, Ally. I totally understand now," he said gently.

Ally smiled up at him as they broke apart. "I'm writing a new song...you wanna help me?"

Austin's face immediately brightened. "Of course."

The pair of them sat together on the porch swing, wrapping the blanket around them. Ally snuggled into the crook between Austin's chest and his arm comfortably. Austin felt those damn butterflies again when she sat so close, and she smelled so good..._snap out of it, Austin. This is Ally; you are strictly in the friend-zone. _

"Okay, so I have the first verse and the chorus," she showed him, and he grinned as he read it.

"This is amazing, Als," he told her earnestly, and she smiled happily.

"Thank you, Austin," she replied.

As the sky darkened and the stars came out, Austin and Ally simply talked and wrote through the night, like they were in their own little world where time didn't pass. It was like they were the only two people on the planet; snuggled up together in their own little bubble. Eventually, as they grew more and more tired, they stopped talking and writing, and simply sat there in peaceful silence. Austin had no intention of leaving, and Ally had no intention of letting him go. It was just as Ally was drifting off to sleep that she remembered she hadn't called Dallas yet...oh, well. That was just too bad.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews; please keep them coming to let me know what you think :)**


	12. Duets & Fall Outs

A/N: Just quickly, when the songs are sung, anything written in_italics _is Ally, _underlined italics_is Austin, and **bold **is both of them :)

* * *

A tickling sensation by his nose awoke Austin the next morning. Confused, he opened his eyes and swiped at his nose. He realised it was Ally's hair that was tickling his nose. Wait...what? Startled, he glanced around and realised he was still sitting on the porch swing; with Ally curled up asleep next to him. Except now, the sky wasn't bright with stars; it was bright with the early morning, rising sunshine. Austin glanced down at Ally, and a goofy grin spread across his features. She was lying across him, her head on his chest with her curly, brown hair splayed all over his shirt. Her mouth was parted, and her face was peaceful with sleep. Why was his heart jumping like that in his chest? This was just Ally...his _friend. I can't feel anything more than friendship for Ally, _he reminded himself. _It could ruin everything...I can't lose her again._

"Ally," he whispered in her ear, shaking her gently. "Als, wake up."

Ally stirred, and opened her eyes, stretching gloriously. "Austin?" she mumbled. "What time is it?"

He glanced at his watch with a chuckle. "It's 5:45."

Ally giggled softly. "We slept out here all night..."

Austin chuckled again. "Yeah, we did."

They exchanged glances, before laughing. Ally suddenly realised what she was doing as she took a reality check. _I slept out on a porch swing all night with Austin, and I didn't call my _boyfriend _when I said I would...oh my God, I'm a terrible girlfriend. _Ally suddenly realised the position she was in. Embarrassed, she retracted her arm from around his waist and sat up, shooting him an apologetic glance. He raked a hand through his blonde hair, looking away and trying not to blush.

"Uh...I should probably go inside and get ready for school," she said quickly, gathering her book, pen and blanket together.

"Yeah, I should get home," he said, also standing and rubbing the back of his neck. Her eyes caught the movement, and he shook it off by raking a hand through his hair again. _I gotta stop doing that, _he thought hastily. _She'll know I'm nervous._

The pair stood there in silence for a couple of moments, simply staring at each other. Ally jerked her head toward the front door and chuckled in embarrassment.

"I guess I'll see you at school," she offered, beginning to make her way to the front door.

"Yeah," Austin shot her a dazzling smile, which had a blush creeping to her cheeks. "See ya."

Ally watched as he made his way across the lawn and through the white gate to his car. As he got in the car, he turned to look at her. She waved, and beaming, he waved back. She watched as he drove out of her street. Sighing, Ally entered her house and leaned tiredly against the door, opening her songbook. The song they'd written together was beautiful..._what am I doing?_ She groaned, closing her eyes and resting her head against the door. This shouldn't be so complicated...but why did she feel so...so fluttery inside after sleeping next to Austin all night? Ally exhaled. None of it made any sense.

Ally beamed at the audience and waved. "Hey there guys! Thank you so much for coming out!"

The audience applauded her, and Ally glanced up at the practise room. Rumours had been spreading around the school all day that Ally would be performing with Austin tonight at Sonic Boom, so the audience was mostly made up of cheerleaders and his fans. Dallas was also there, as well as new friends of Austin's, Dez, Trish and Ally's friends from the play. It was the biggest audience Ally had ever performed in front of, but she wasn't nervous. Because a certain blonde boy was waiting up in the practise room for his cue, and she knew as soon as she saw him she would relax.

It was now Friday night, and the week at school had flown by. She'd been to every detention with Austin; and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she _enjoyed _detention. It was the only real time she got to spend with Austin, just the pair of them. Ever since he'd joined the school, all the girls in school were still all over him, and even though he assured Ally she was his favourite girl, this didn't stop him from enjoying the attention. After every detention, Dallas insisted on picking Ally up to spend time together, so while they did that, Austin would date a different girl every evening. Ally tried not to let this bother her, as Austin wasn't her boyfriend, and he had every right to date any girl he wanted (as long as it wasn't Cecilia because she was a total bitch). Austin would never get his date's number, and after that, he would simply tell her that he "thought they were just doing this as friends", before treating her simply like a friend who he acknowledged in the hallway, and occasionally made small-talk with him. This both infuriated and amused Ally. It was amusing to watch the way the girls would pout when he wouldn't kiss them or call them, yet it was infuriating because they were all stupid enough to fall for it.

Anyway, it was Friday night, and finally the week at school was over. Austin and Ally had written two new songs together, so they decided to hold a performance, telling only Trish and Dez that they were performing _together. _Word got around quickly though, so now a big group of people had come out to watch Ally perform.

"I know usually it's just me and the band playing for you," Ally grinned, watching as an excited whisper swept across the store. "But today's gonna be a little different. Austin? You up there?"

The practise room door flew open, and Austin jumped out onto the balcony with a grin. "What's up everyone?"

The audience burst into applause, lots of the cheerleaders squealing excitedly. Ally tried not to roll her eyes as she noticed girls he'd already dated also smiling flirtatiously up at him, even though he'd dumped them. Austin hurried down the stairs and through the audience, grinning and slapping hands with several guys as he made his way up to Ally. Ally noticed Dallas glowering in Austin's direction, but thankfully, Austin hadn't seemed to notice.

"Hey everyone!" Austin grinned. "Me performing with Ally was meant to be a surprise, but I guess word gets around pretty quickly around here..." he eyed Trish and Dez who smirked up at him, unabashed.

"But anyway, this song is called _Hold On 'Til the Night, _and it was written by Ally and I," he smiled.

Ally grinned at the band. "Hit it."

The pianist began to play the melody Ally had written, along with the drummer and bass backing it up. Austin slung his guitar over him and began to play. Ally opened her mouth and sang the first verse.

_Watching the minute hand  
Frozen solid not moving  
Still we believe we can  
But we're afraid of losing  
Watching from over here  
Its hardly worth competing  
I'm almost out of here  
While breaking a heart that's beating  
__Just as I start giving up  
I'm not backing up_

The song began to pick up as the chorus arrived, and Austin and Ally grinned at each other, before belting the lyrics out together.

_**Run into the light  
Get out of your own way  
Not afraid to fight  
Believe in what you say  
I'll hold on till the night  
Hanging by a thread  
I'm not scared to let go  
Thoughts inside your head  
That creep up to get you  
I believe this is right  
So I'll hold on til the night**_

_I climbed up on a tree  
To get a new perspective_  
_If love is worth the time  
The price is being rejected  
__**Just as I start falling down  
I turned this around**_

The pair swayed across the stage as they sang the next chorus, jumping along with the beat and soaking up the applause of the audience.

_**Run into the light  
Get out of your own way  
Not afraid to fight  
Believe in what you say  
I'll hold on till the night  
Hanging by a thread  
I'm not scared to let go  
Thoughts inside your head  
That creep up to get you  
I believe this is right  
So I'll hold on til the night**_

Austin and Ally walked back to each other, keeping their eyes locked together as they both sang the bridge.

_**Hold on til I'm with you  
All I've got to give you  
All my fears are slowly fading to never know  
Yes I start running, running, running, running!**_

_Run into the light  
Get out of your own way  
Not afraid to fight  
Believe in what you say__**  
I'll hold on till the night **__(Believe that this is the night!)__**  
**__Hanging by a thread  
I'm not scared to let go  
Thoughts inside your head  
That creep up to get you  
__**I believe this is right  
So I'll hold on til the night**_

As the song ended, Austin and Ally stood there, staring at each other and breathing hard. The audience broke the tension by bursting into applause, screaming and whooping like Ally had never heard before. Austin laughed at Ally's stunned expression.

"That was awesome!" he yelled over the screaming. "That's the best song we've ever written!"

All Ally could do was grin as the crowd eventually quietened down, and she spoke up. "Thank you so much. This last song we're playing is a song we wrote together."

Austin began to strum the melody on his electric guitar, grinning at Ally. The bass and drums backed him up as Ally began to sing.

_Guess this means you're sorry  
You're standing at my door  
Guess this means you take back  
All you said before  
Like how much you wanted  
Anyone but me  
Said you'd never come back  
But here you are again_

Austin grinned and sang the chorus with her, abandoning his guitar as the backing guitarists played.

_**'Cause we belong together now, yeah  
Forever united here somehow, yeah  
You got a piece of me  
And honestly  
My life would suck without you**_

They smirked knowingly at each other as they sang the next verse, backing away to opposite sides of the stage.

_Maybe I was stupid for telling you goodbye  
Maybe I was wrong for trying to pick a fight  
__I know that I've got issues  
But you're pretty messed up too  
__**Either way I found out  
I'm nothing without you**_

_**'Cause we belong together now, yeah  
Forever united here somehow, yeah  
You got a piece of me  
And honestly  
My life would suck without you**_

Ally smiled ruefully as she sang the bridge, making her way toward him. Austin grinned and mimicked her footsteps.

_Being with you is so dysfunctional  
I really shouldn't miss you  
__**But I can't let you go  
Oh yeah**_

_**'Cause we belong together now, yeah  
Forever united here somehow, yeah  
You got a piece of me  
And honestly**__  
__My life__ (My life!) __would suck__ (Would suck!) without you!_

_'Cause we belong together now,__(together now!)__** yeah  
Forever united here **__somehow!__**  
Yeah, you got a piece of me  
And honestly**__  
__My life__ (My life!) __would suck__ (Would suck!) __**without you!**_

As the song ended, Austin and Ally laughed and wrapped each other in a one-armed hug as the crowd exploded into applause again. Ally's eyes fell on Dallas, who wasn't even looking at her. He was talking to Cecilia, who was twirling a lock of her hair on her finger, with her Queen Bitch smirk on. Luckily, Trent hadn't noticed, as he was too busy applauding Austin and Ally. Ally glanced over at Trish, expecting her to be standing next to Dez. However, her arms were folded and a sour expression was on her face as she glared in the direction of the door. Ally saw that Dez was standing by the door and Mindy was with him, talking...well, she would say talking, but Mindy's "talk" was more of a boom. She was...booming at him, if that makes any sense.

Austin grabbed Ally's hand, and together they took a bow.

"Thank you everyone! Let's hear it for Ally, the most talented singer/songwriter I know!" Austin yelled. Ally felt her heart swell with happiness as the audience _actually _shifted their gazes from Austin to applaud Ally. Apart from Cecilia and Dallas, of course. Ally wasn't sure if this mattered to her...annoyance set in, and she realised, actually yes, that did matter.

"Thanks for coming out everyone!" Ally smiled, and watched as the audience began to file out. Austin smiled apologetically at Ally as the audience continued to leave.

"I'm sorry, Ally, I really want to stay and hang out, but I have to get home," he told her earnestly. "My mom's meant to be baby-sitting our neighbours tonight, but she's working late, so I promised her I would fill in for her. But can we hang out tomorrow, after the dress rehearsal?"

Ally smiled. "That's fine, Austin, and I'd love to hang out with you."

"Cool," he beamed, and tugged her into a hug. Ally smiled and hugged him back.

"Bye, Ally-gator," he chuckled, before leaving along with the audience. Trish glared sullenly as Mindy dragged Dez with her. Ally watched as Cecilia made her way coyly over to Trent, who smiled and left with his arm wrapped around her. Dallas began to stalk out the door, when Ally called after him.

"Dallas?" she called.

He turned around and glared at her. "What?"

"Did I do something?" she asked, perplexed.

He shook his head angrily. "Just leave it, Ally, I'm going home." With that, he strode out of the store. Ally exchanged a surprised look with Trish.

"What's his problem?" she wondered.

Trish shook her head, folding her arms with the same sour expression on her face. "I don't know. I'm gonna head home, Ally."

"Trish, wait!" Ally caught her arm. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Ally, I'm just tired," Trish exhaled. "I have prom committee meetings to organise, I still need to get a yearbook committee together, and I have a ton of homework to do."

Ally looked at her doubtfully. "Are you sure that's it, Trish?"

"Yes!" Trish sighed exasperatedly. "I'm sure!"

But Ally wasn't giving up that easily. Trish was her best friend. She didn't want to be the one to have to bring it up, but seeing as Trish certainly wasn't spilling anytime soon...

"Trish...is this because of Dez and Mindy?" she asked quietly.

Trish's jaw dropped. "WHAT?" she practically yelled. "Are you crazy? Why would you say that?"

Ally refused to be intimidated by Trish's yelling. She was kind of used to it by now anyway, and considering she'd started this, she might as well carry it on.

"Because I saw the way you looked at him!" she said defensively. "I mean, is it because it's Mindy, or do you like Dez? It's okay to admit it, you know."

Trish stared at her furiously, lost for words. "That's – you're – that's – that's wrong!" she spluttered.

Ally sighed. "Trish, we've been best friends since kindergarten – you can tell me if something's going on."

Trish shook her head. "We're not having this conversation, Ally, and I'm going home."

Ally rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, but seriously, if you do like Dez, you should just admit it. It's not going to kill you."

Trish whirled around. "I should admit it, huh? Maybe I will when you admit that you're falling for Austin!"

Trish wasn't sure where the words were coming from, but all she felt was inexplicable rage. She wasn't thinking straight; all she wanted to do was yell and scream.

The smile vanished from Ally's face quicker than lightning and she gaped at Trish. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me!" she snapped. "I see the way _you _look at Austin! Why don't _you _admit that you have feelings for him?"

"I do not!" Ally stammered. "That's ridiculous – I have a boyfriend!"

"Yeah, and clearly, he can see that you're falling for Austin too!" Trish retorted.

Ally stared at Trish angrily, astounded that she would even say such a thing. "That is not true, Trish, he knows that I want to be with him. I've already had this argument with Dallas, and I do _not _want to repeat it with you. Austin and I are _just friends! _Nothing more will ever happen there!"

"Ugh, just admit it, Ally!" Trish cried exasperatedly. "You're attracted to him, which is why you don't care that Dallas is pissed at you!"

"I can't admit that, Trish, and I won't!" Ally shouted. "And since when did this become about Austin and I? You're the one who's too proud to admit that you like Dez, and seeing him with Mindy makes you jealous!"

Trish growled in frustration. "Don't even talk to me!" she yelled, before turning and storming out the door. Angrily, Ally grabbed the plastic bowl of guitar picks and threw it across the room. It crashed into the wall, remaining intact but spilling the triangular pieces of plastic everywhere. Ally sighed in annoyance, some of her anger evaporating slightly. Great. Now she'd fallen out with her best friend, and there were about fifty guitar picks scattered across the floor that she had to clean up.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the songs used, nor do I own Austin and Ally.**

**Songs used: Hold On 'Til The Night by Greyson Chance and My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson :)**

**Please review! xx**


	13. Apologies & Threats

**yeah! Double update! I decided to post two chapters today because my best friend is coming to stay with me for a week tomorrow, so I won't be able to update as quickly as I usually do, so to make up for this I posted two chapters. Please, bear with me and I'll update ASAP next week :)**

* * *

It was Saturday morning, and Ally was getting ready to go to the dress rehearsal for Grease. She was meant to be there at ten o'clock, and it would probably go on until about half past three, which meant she would need lunch as well. Her dad and Charlotte had left early to get out of the town to shop for the food and the wedding cake, so Ally was alone in the house. She breezed around the kitchen, gathering together her lunch, running upstairs to grab her songbook and sheet music, while also keeping an eye on the time. Trish was meant to be picking her up, but considering the mammoth fight they'd gotten into last night, she seriously doubted that Trish was still coming. Ally didn't have her own car yet, which meant that she had to walk if she was going to be there on time.

Ally checked her phone for messages as she left the house and locked the front door. Nothing. There was nothing from Trish or Dallas. As Ally walked, her mind wandered back to the fight between her and Trish. How could her best friend say stuff like that to her? She of all people should know that Ally was NOT falling for Austin! But then a very small part of her protested. _But AM I falling for Austin? _NO! Of course she wasn't...that was ridiculous; Austin was great. He made her feel good about herself, he was always so sweet to her, and he was just generally an awesome guy. But...she would be lying if she said she hadn't imagined what his hand would feel like wrapped around hers, or how she would feel wrapped up in his arms. She would also be lying if she said she hadn't ever considered how kissing him might feel...

SNAP OUT OF IT! Ally mentally slapped herself. _I can't think about Austin like that! I have a freaking boyfriend! Austin is JUST my friend. If we ever DID date, it could jeopardise our friendship – and I value him too much for that to happen._

Shaking off these thoughts, Ally quickened her pace, and eventually she made it to the school. To her surprise, she was one of the last to arrive as she hurried into the auditorium. Mr Avalon beamed as she walked in.

"There's our star pianist," he called. "Just in time, Miss Dawson. Do you have your sheet music?"

"Of course," Ally smiled, holding up the bag of her things. "I'll go set up at the piano."

As Ally made her way over to the piano, she smiled and waved at people she'd become friends with. Suddenly, a hand briefly touched the fingers she had wrapped around the bag handles, and the bag was gently pried from her grip. She turned in surprise to see Austin, with a big grin on his face as he carried her bag for her.

"Austin?" she said in confusion, feeling both intrigued and amused. "What are you doing here?"

He grinned. "I joined the backstage crew! Yeah, I change props and stuff when the curtains close, and I pull those ropes to change the sets. Mr Avalon said they need help lifting the heavier things," he explained.

Ally smiled as they stopped at the piano, and Austin placed her bag on top of the piano. "Why would you join the backstage crew?" she enquired curiously.

Austin rolled his eyes as if it were obvious. "So I get to hang out with you! Duh."

Ally smiled at him, feeling the pit of her stomach swoop with butterflies. "Aw, really? That's so sweet, Austin."

"Yeah, I know," he looked at his feet, a shy smile on his face, which by the way, was adorable. "I'm a nice guy."

Ally giggled and began to unpack her sheet music, while he opened the piano lid for her.

"So how come you were so late? I thought Trish was dropping you off," he said.

"She was," Ally exhaled. "We kinda got into a fight last night."

Austin's jaw dropped. "_You two _fought? About what?" he asked incredulously.

Ally shrugged vaguely. "Nothing important...we both said stuff we didn't mean..." _At least I hope she didn't mean what she said._

"Girl stuff?" he guessed.

"You could say that," she muttered, before shrugging. "We'll work it out. We always do."

* * *

The dress rehearsal ran smoothly. During their lunch break, Mr Avalon mysteriously disappeared for twenty minutes, and when he returned, he'd brought back donuts for everyone to tuck into. Ally played every piece perfectly with no mess-ups, and Austin was happy to lift as many props as he could, as long as he got to spend his free time with Ally. Whenever she wasn't playing, or he wasn't lifting, he would sit next to her at the piano, and they would write lyrics in her songbook together.

Eventually, when the dress rehearsal was over, and Mr Avalon was satisfied with how it went, everyone began to pack away. Ally started gathering her things together at the piano, when Austin approached her with a smile.

"I gotta go now, Als, I'm gonna walk round to Dez's cos I promised I'd hang out with him," he said. "Mindy's kinda been keeping him captive – I mean, hanging with him at the Melody Diner, and I think he's trying to avoid her," he joked, causing Ally to giggle.

"Are they dating, or something?" Ally asked, thinking back to Trish's face when she'd seen Dez and Mindy together.

Austin shrugged. "I don't really know...I reckon Mindy thinks they're an item, though."

Ally nodded. "Okay, well, I'll talk to you later."

"Hey, do you wanna catch a movie at my place, say eight o'clock?" Austin asked.

"I'd love to," Ally smiled.

"Great," Austin winked at her. "Catch you later, Als."

She waved as he leapt down from the stage and made his way out of the auditorium. Ally smiled and continued to pack her sheet music away. The click-clack noise of high heels approached her, and as she looked up, she noticed Cecilia walking toward her. She was still dressed in the black cat-suit that Sandy wears at the end of the play; with the massive heels and everything. She was also wearing her Queen Bitch sneer.

"What do we have here, Ally Dawson?" she smirked. "It looks like you're becoming a two-timer."

"What are you talking about?" Ally asked, not even sparing her a glance as she continued to sort her sheet music out into the order of play.

"Well, you're dating Dallas, and it seems as though you and Austie have some...unresolved feelings for each other," Cecilia explained, placing her hands on her hips.

"Austie?" Ally repeated doubtfully. "Okay first, his name is Austin, and second, we don't have any unresolved feelings for each other. We're just friends."

"Right, well, why don't you try and tell that to your boyfriend? He happens to think that you and Austie are secretly dating," she smirked.

Ally's blood turned to ice. "Did you tell him that?" she demanded.

"Are you not denying it?" Cecilia retorted.

"Of course I'm denying it! When is everyone going to get that Austin and I are _just friends?" _Ally said exasperatedly.

"When you stop stringing him along," Cecilia said viciously. "You need to stay away from Austie, Dawson. Give some of us a chance and stop stringing him along! You're dating _Dallas. _Unless, you want everyone to know that you're a two-timing slut?"

"You know, you've got a lot of guts calling _me _a two-timing slut," Ally hissed, lowering her voice. "I know you've cheated on Trent more times than any of us can count. There are benefits to being a wallflower, you know. You hear things. If you want to spread lies about me, I'll spread the truth about _you."_

Cecilia glowered at her and stepped forward. "You'd better watch your back, Dawson," she threatened, before flipping her hair and turning around.

"Yeah, that's kind of impossible, Cecilia," Ally shot back like a smartass, rolling her eyes and continuing her work as Cecilia strutted off. She wasn't scared of that bitch, nor did she care what she thought. She _knew _she wasn't stringing Austin along, because she'd given him no reason to believe that they were dating. Then why did everyone else seem to think they were together?

* * *

When Ally got home, she was surprised to see Trish lying on the front porch, with her head resting on her handbag as she slept soundly. Confused and concerned, Ally hurried up the grass to wake up her friend...yeah, okay, just because they were fighting didn't mean Ally was going to call her an ex-friend, or something stupid like that.

"Trish?" Ally shook her shoulder. "Trish, wake up."

Trish merely grunted in her sleep, snoring softly. Ally sighed.

"Ahh, there's a Zalien!" Ally shouted, shaking the short Latina again. Trish started, and sat bolt upright.

"Guess who got a job at Cupcake City?" she cried, her eyes darting around wildly, before she relaxed and her gaze fell upon Ally. "Oh. Uh, hey, Ally."

"Hey," Ally said quietly. "What are you doing here?"

Trish sighed. "I came to talk to you, but then remembered that you were at the dress rehearsal, so I decided to wait and fell asleep. Look, I know you're mad at me, but I really need to talk to you."

Ally breathed out deeply, standing up. "Let's go inside." She unlocked the door, and the two girls meandered into the kitchen. Ally walked over to the sink, taking a glass and filling it with water.

"Do you want a drink?" she asked, not turning around to look at Trish who was sitting at the kitchen table.

"No, thanks," Trish replied quietly. Ally sighed and placed the glass down, turning around to face Trish.

"What do you want to talk about, Trish?" she asked.

She sighed. "Are you still mad at me?"

"Yes, actually, I am," Ally replied. "You know, lately everyone's been accusing me of cheating on Dallas, but I never thought that _you _would."

Trish sighed. "Ally, I'm sorry, okay? Last night, I was just...I was so upset, and angry, and I said things I know I shouldn't have said. Seeing Dez with Mindy...it just, it really bugged me because she's taking advantage of him, and you know I've never liked her! I was wrong to take my anger and frustration out on you, when I know you were just trying to help."

Ally looked down at her hands, unable to stay mad at her friend when she heard the desperation in her voice. "I get it, Trish, and it's okay. I was wrong trying to force you to admit things that you're not ready to say, or maybe aren't even true, but a part of me thinks...that what I said _could _be true?" she said, referring to Trish admitting she liked Dez.

Trish shuddered. "Yeah, you're right, I'm not admitting anything right now."

"But...did you really mean all those things you said about me and Austin?" Ally enquired.

Trish shook her head. "I was jumping ahead and making conclusions. I actually _don't _know how you feel about Austin, but I'm pretty sure what you guys have is more than a friendship."

Ally tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What does that mean -?" she began, but was cut off as Trish's cell phone started to ring. Ally realised with a smile that her ringtone was still 'Double Take'. After all these years she hadn't changed it!

"Hello, mom?" Trish said into the phone. "What? ... Oh my God, I totally forgot! I'll be there in five!" She hung up and shot Ally an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I have to go! My grandparents are taking us out and I completely forgot – I need to get home and change."

"That's fine," Ally shrugged with a smile. "Have fun."

Trish smiled and slung her bag over her shoulder. "I'll try. So, are we best friends again?"

Ally rolled her eyes. "We were always best friends, silly." She hugged Trish tightly. "Now go, you're going to be late. Oh, and make sure you wear that cute teal knitted cardigan – it looks really nice on you."

Trish grinned. "Thanks, Ally. See you later."

Ally watched her leave, playing with her hair thoughtfully. What had Trish meant when she'd said that she and Austin had more than a friendship?

* * *

It was 7:45, and Ally was getting ready for the movie at Austin's place. She'd gone to the supermarket earlier on and bought a jar of pickles, a packet of pancakes and a box of cookies for them to share while they watched the film. She just hoped Austin didn't pick a horror movie, because those practically bored her to death.

Her dad and Charlotte had got back an hour ago, and were now sitting together in the back garden, with wine and music. Ally ducked outside to say goodbye, before grabbing her bag and shooting out the front door. As she made her way down the grass and toward the gate, she saw five people walking toward her house. As she peered closer, she recognised Dallas at the front. He halted to a stop in front of her, with his friends following. Ally stared at him in surprise.

"Dallas, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I came to see you, babe," he drawled, and as he spoke, Ally could smell alcohol on his breath.

"Have you been drinking?" she demanded, taking a step back.

Dallas grinned. "Yup...why? Is there a problem with that, Ally?"

"You're not eighteen yet," Ally told him flatly. "So, technically, you shouldn't be drinking at all."

Dallas rolled his eyes. "Whatever. That's not what I came here to talk about. I want you to tell me the truth, babe. Are you cheating on me with that Moon kid?"

Ally sighed in frustration. "No! I'm not, so whatever crap Cecilia told you is a lie!"

"Right...well, this isn't about Cecilia," Dallas drawled, still grinning. "This is about me teaching that Moon kid a lesson to stay away from my girl. I want you to take me to his house."

Ally folded her arms defiantly. "No. You're not going to fight him, Dallas, you need to go home and sleep it off."

"I don't want to sleep," Dallas took a step toward her, getting too close for comfort. "I want you to take me to his house now."

"No," Ally stepped back, but as she did, two of his friends jumped behind her so she couldn't back away. Ally glared at Dallas, trying to keep her cool. Her dad was in the house...but he was all the way in the back garden. She wouldn't be able to get to him in time.

"Why not? Scared I'm going to hurt him?" he snickered. "I just want to teach him a lesson."

"Dallas, please, you're better than this!" Ally begged. "Just please, go home, and we'll talk tomorrow when you're sober!"

"Take me to Austin's house, or I'll call him on your phone and get him to come here," Dallas threatened, snatching her bag off her and beginning to rifle through it.

"Dallas, don't!" Ally cried, about to step forward, when the two guys grabbed her arms. "Let go of me!"

Suddenly, a car pulled over on the side of the road, and Ally looked up desperately to see Trent Ward getting out of the car. Dallas dropped Ally's bag in surprise, while the two guys holding her immediately let her go.

"What's going on here?" Trent demanded, glaring at Dallas and the others.

"Nothing," Dallas returned his glare, stepping back away from Ally. "It's none of your business anyway, Ward."

"Go home, Dallas," Trent rolled his eyes. "Under-aged drinking, huh? Smart move. Get your asses back home before I have to call the cops."

Dallas and his friends glowered at him, muttering curses under their breaths. Ally stared at Dallas in horror as he stalked off with his friends. Trent eyed her sympathetically.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"Nothing," she sighed. "They were just drunk, that's all. But thank you for helping me, Trent. What were you doing here anyway?"

"There's a party going on," he explained. "I'm the designated driver, and I heard Dallas and his lot talking about beating up Austin, and I heard they were coming here, so I thought I'd make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine, thank you," Ally smiled shakily. "I'm just running late; I'm supposed to be at Austin's."

"I'll drive you," he offered. "Get in."

"Thank you," Ally said in relief, getting in the car and telling Trent the address. As they drove, Ally couldn't stop the tears that trickled down her cheeks. How could Dallas do that to her? She had never been afraid of Dallas before, but now she was. She wasn't even scared for herself that much – she was more afraid of what Dallas might do to hurt Austin.

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**A/N: thank you for reviewing, I really appreciate it. Please keep up with the reviews! Reading each one always motivates me just that little bit more to write. Oh, and I can promise that a more Auslly chapter is coming up soon, as in, they will DEFINITELY be spending more time together. Thanks for reading! xx**


	14. Moments & Hidden Feelings

**Sorry for the wait, but here it is! Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Trent pulled over outside Austin's house, and smiled kindly over at her. "Well, this is it."

"Thank you so much, Trent," Ally said, hoping he didn't notice the tears on her cheeks. But he did, and sighing, he placed a comforting hand on her arm.

"Ally, it's okay," he said.

"No, it's not," she sighed. "Dallas's behaviour was...inexcusable. I can't believe he was going to hurt Austin."

"Ally, he was just drunk," Trent reasoned. "When people get drunk, everything gets heightened, and you do stuff irrationally without thinking it through."

"It doesn't change what he was going to do," Ally said stubbornly, before sighing. "Sorry. I just don't know what to do."

"I'll tell you what you should do," Trent said gently. "You should go inside to Austin, hang out with him and forget about Dallas for one night, okay? Just don't worry about it."

Ally nodded, forcing herself to suppress more tears while quickly wiping her eyes. "Do I look like I've been crying?"

"No," Trent smiled, but they both knew he was lying. "Now go on. Go have some fun."

"Thank you, Trent. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't turned up," Ally said earnestly.

He chuckled. "It's fine, Ally, really. I'll see you on Monday, okay? Have a good weekend."

"Thanks, you too," Ally squeezed his hand as a way of saying thank you, before getting out the car. She waved goodbye and let the door fall shut. Taking a deep breath and trying to compose herself, Ally made her way up the porch steps and rang the doorbell. Austin opened it and grinned as he saw her.

"Hey there, Ally-gator," he began, but then his expression immediately became concerned. "Ally? Are you okay?"

She was saved from answering as Mimi came down the stairs, beaming and holding two pairs of heels. She was wearing a dark blue dress, and her hair was piled loosely on top of her head. She had little diamond-drop earrings in her ears, and as soon as her gaze fell upon Ally, she smiled in relief.

"Ally! Thank goodness you're here; come in, come in," she commanded, and smiling, Ally entered the house. Austin shut the door behind him and rolled his eyes at his mother.

"Ally, I need your opinion," she said. "Do I go with the silver heels or the black heels?"

"What's the occasion?" Ally wondered.

Austin heaved a sigh. "My mom is going on a _date_ with Principal Morrison."

Mimi whacked his arm playfully. "It's not a date, we're just going dancing."

Austin rolled his eyes. "There's a word for that mom. Actually, there are two: in the real world, it's called a date, but however, in my world, I call it _gross."_

Mimi ignored him pointedly and looked at Ally. "So, Ally what do you think?"

"The black ones," Ally smiled. "They look both sassy and sophisticated."

Mimi grinned. "Good choice," she slipped the heels on, just as the doorbell rang. "Ooh, I need to get my purse! Austin, answer the door!"

Pulling a face at Ally, Austin shuffled over to the door. Ally giggled at his expression, before stifling it as he opened the door. Principal Morrison was standing there nervously, holding a bunch of flowers and wearing a pair of black trousers, a white shirt with the top button undone and a loose, black tie.

"Good evening, sir," Ally said politely, at the same time as Austin said, "Hey, man, what's up?" Ally shot him a disapproving look. This _was _the principal of their high school after all.

"Good evening, Miss Daw- I mean, good evening, Ally, Austin," he nodded politely at the pair of them. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Ally replied, at the same time as Austin said "Pretty good."

Mimi returned to the hall, holding her purse and smiling at Principal Morrison. "Hello, Christopher."

Austin stifled a gag. Oh God...she was on first-name basis with the guy now?

"Mimi, you look stunning," he smiled, handing her the flowers.

"Thank you," she beamed radiantly, and Ally could tell by the look on Austin's face that even though he was stifling gags and laughter, he was happy that his mother looked so happy. That was one of the things she loved about Austin...he was so selfless, and always put others before himself.

Mimi handed the flowers to Austin, who fake-sneezed pointedly and shoved them at Ally. Rolling her eyes, she held them up to admire them. Huh. Chrysanthemums. Pretty.

"I won't be back too late, Austin," Mimi told him. "There's plenty of food in the fridge and call me anything goes wrong. Ally, you'll stop him from burning the house down, right?"

Ally grinned, but Austin cut off her reply. "Mom, I'm not a baby."

"I beg to differ," Ally smirked, stretching up and ruffling his hair playfully, as Mimi and Principal Morrison waved and left.

"No touching the hair," Austin smirked, looping an arm around her waist and taking the flowers from her. "Would you take crayons and draw all over the Mona Lisa? Didn't think so."

Ally laughed as he led her to the kitchen. "Okay, did you really just compare your hair to the Mona Lisa?"

Austin glanced down at her, his expression mock-serious. "Yes, Ally. Yes I did."

Ally rolled her eyes as he filled a vase with water and dunked the flowers in it. "Austin, you're not doing it right," she easily slipped under his arm and in front of him, opening the draw and pulling out a pair of scissors. Austin's arms were either side of her, trapping her against the counter as she worked on the flowers, snipping off the ends of the stems and arranging them prettily in the vase.

"See? Much better," Ally turned back around, expecting him to lean back, but he stayed in the same position. His arms were either side of her, and she was unable to move anywhere. Not that she wanted to, when his face was only inches from hers. Austin stared at her, confusion in his eyes. Was that a flicker of hope she saw in his gaze as his eyes shifted to her lips, before returning to her eyes? Ally could feel her throat sealing up as she stared into those gorgeous, earnest brown eyes. How could anyone ever even think about hurting Austin? Austin broke out of his trance suddenly and stepped back, clearing his throat.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Did they just have a moment? Ally wondered. Never mind anyway...he broke it; he must've been feeling uncomfortable. After all, they _were _strictly in the friend zone. But she'd seen the look in his eyes...maybe he'd ended the moment _because _of what he was feeling? _What? _No, that was ridiculous. Austin didn't have feelings for her; at least not romantic ones.

Austin's gaze became serious as he scrutinised her. "You look all upset again, like when you did when you got here. What's wrong, Als?"

"Nothing," she said hastily, only just realising now that her eyes had clouded over with tears. "Got something in my eye," she added lamely, quickly wiping her eyes. Austin took her hand gently and caught a tear with his thumb, leaning closer to her and staring at her with his eyes full of concern.

"You're a terrible liar," he remarked softly. "Come on, Ally, it's me. You can tell me anything."

"I..." she failed for words as she locked gazes with him. "It's, uh...hard to, um, explain."

"Is it to do with Dallas?" he asked. "Was it about me?"

"How'd you guess?" Ally wondered in surprise.

He shrugged. "You don't like talking about it if he has a go at you about me. What did he say this time?"

Ally noticed that he'd clenched his hands into fists and his jaw had tightened with anger, however, his eyes were still gentle and caring.

"He...uh..." Ally sighed. "He was drunk, and...he was going to hurt you."

Austin looked confused. "Wait, when was this?"

Ally exhaled anxiously and quickly explained everything to him. Anger shadowed Austin's face as she finished, and he clenched his fists even tighter if that were even possible.

"I am gonna kick that kid in the balls," he muttered furiously.

"Austin, there's no way he'll actually be able to hurt you," Ally reasoned.

"That's not what I'm mad at about, Ally, I'm angry that he was drunk around you, and he tried to get to me through you. If that kid wants to fight me, I'll do it, but there's no way you're getting involved!" Austin ranted.

"Hey, no," she said firmly. "I don't want you to fight him, Austin."

"Why do you care if I land a punch on him, Ally, he deserves it," he retorted.

"No, I don't want to see _you _get hurt!" she snapped, grabbing his face in her hands and forcing him to look at her. Austin regarded her in surprise, staring down into her big, brown eyes.

"He's not himself when he's drunk," she explained quietly. "And he's got friends that'll back him up. They'll hurt you, and I don't want to see that happen. Besides," she added jokingly. "What right does he have messing up such a pretty face?"

Austin almost smiled, but he still looked annoyed. "Ally, he practically threatened you..."

"I know," she said gently, still holding him. "And I am so pissed at him. But I'm fine, okay? And so are you, and that's how I want it to stay."

Austin finally did smile now, looping his arms around her waist while her hands slid to wrap around his mid-section. "You got it, Als," he whispered into her hair, pulling her tightly against his body. She breathed a sigh of relief, hugging him back. As they pulled away, Austin grinned.

"You know what? I don't wanna watch a movie – I don't get to talk to you during a movie," he said.

"So what do you wanna do?" Ally smiled.

He grinned. "I feel like baking."

Ally looked alarmed. "You aren't actually _trying _to burn the house down, right? Because you know I'll be forced to stop you since I promised your mother."

Austin chuckled. "I'm not going to burn the house down. Actually, I'm a little insulted that you have such little faith in me."

Ally rolled her eyes but smiled. "So, what are we baking?"

A big, boyish grin spread across his face. "Duh! We're baking brownies!"

Once they'd looked up the perfect recipe for brownies on the internet, the pair ransacked the kitchen for ingredients and started to make the brownie mixture. As they made the brownies, they shot possible song lyrics at each other, and eventually, Ally had grabbed some paper and was writing the ideas down.

She was sitting on the counter, tapping her chin thoughtfully with the pen and reading through the lyrics she and Austin had come up with so far. Austin was mixing the chocolate mixture, staring down at it longingly.

"Okay, so Austin, what do you think of this verse?" she asked, handing it to him.

Austin shook his head. "No, I want you to sing it to me."

Ally rolled her eyes. "Fine, I will," she began to sing to the new melody she'd come up with. _"Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor. Reaching for the phone 'cause I can't fight it anymore. And I wonder if I ever cross your mind? For me it happens all the time."_

Austin grinned, and resumed mixing. "Ally, that was awesome. But you don't need to worry about writing a new song right now – you don't need to work so hard. Come and help me finish mixing."

"Austin, I'm not writing this song for me," she said. "I'm writing a duet for me and you."

Austin paused and glanced up from his mixing. "Really?"

"Of course," she smiled. "I like performing with you...that reminds me," she placed the notebook down and her hands drifted to the chain around her neck. Somewhat reluctantly, she pulled Austin's necklace off and held it out to him. His face lit up.

"You're still wearing it?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah," she blushed. "I always wear it...I know it's stupid, but when I used to get nervous before performing I would always remind myself I was wearing it...like a part of you was still with me."

"It's not stupid at all, Ally," Austin said softly, placing the spoon down and walking around the counter so he was right in front of her. "I never truly left you, Als. I will always come back for you, no matter what."

Ally smiled down at him, feeling butterflies swarm in the pit of her stomach. "Here," she was about to loop the necklace around his neck, but he stopped her and shook his head.

"No. I want _you _to have it," he told her. "If it helped you that much, and if it made you feel like you weren't alone, then you should keep it."

She smiled and put it around her neck. "Thank you, Austin."

Austin simply grinned and picked up the spoon again. "I think this is as smooth as we're gonna get it. Come and help me put it in the baking tray, will you?"

Ally picked up the notebook. "I need to get a good chorus done," she complained half-heartedly. "You do it; I trust that you won't screw it up," she smirked.

Austin sighed playfully and made his way over to her again so he was standing right in front of her. "Don't make me do this, Allyson..."

She folded her arms defiantly. "Do what, Austin Monica?"

"Oh, you're pushing it," he warned.

"What are you gonna do, Monica?" Ally smirked, leaning forward.

Austin shoved his hand into the packet of flour and flicked a handful into Ally's face. She gasped in mock horror, laughing as the flour fell onto her lap and billowed out around them in a white dust. Austin laughed at her expression and stepped back as she slid down from the counter.

"Do you like omelettes, Austin?" she enquired sweetly, grabbing an egg from the carton on the side and walking toward him.

"Not really," he smirked, playing along. Just as he was about to make a run for it, Ally grabbed both his hands in one of hers and cracked the egg on his head. The yellow yolk ran down his laughing face while the cracked shells nestled in his blonde hair.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that!" his arm shot out and he grabbed her gently around the waist, dragging her over to the brownie mixture. She laughed uncontrollably in his arms, to the point where she couldn't even be bothered to stop him as he pressed two spoonfuls of brownie mixture to each of her cheeks. But they'd started a war. They ran around the kitchen like five year-olds, laughing, shouting and throwing whatever food and drink items they laid their hands on at each other. Austin eventually squirted water from the faucet at Ally, while she cracked another two eggs on him. The floor was extremely slippery by now, and as Ally ran away from Austin, her foot slipped.

"Aaagh!" she yelped, grabbing onto Austin's hand to steady herself. But it was too late, she was still falling and in the end, he fell down with her, or should he say, on _top _of her. Unfortunately, as they'd fallen, they'd knocked into a chair, which had knocked into the bowl of brownie mixture. They both watched in astonishment as the plastic bowl tipped to the floor, and landed with a WHACK, causing brownie mixture to fly all over them.

By now, they were both laughing uncontrollably on the floor. Austin rolled off of Ally, but propped himself up on one elbow so he was leaning over her. She chuckled, looking up at him. He had eggshells all in his hair, flour marking his clothes and face, chocolate streaked across his cheek and cocoa powder threaded into his hair. Austin laughed at the state of Ally, admiring his work. The mixture he'd placed on her face had smeared across her cheeks, and her face was still streaked with flour. Her hair was also streaked with flour, and she had egg yolk and cocoa powder all over her clothes. Not to mention the fact that they were both lying in a pool of spilt water, so they were soaking as well.

"Oops," he grinned, looking around the kitchen in awe. "We have a lot of tidying to do. But it's okay; my mom's not due back for at least an hour or two."

Ally chuckled and picked an eggshell out of his hair. As she brought her hand back down, it accidentally brushed against his cheek. Austin stared at her, his brown eyes melting her as they turned to orbs of milk chocolate. _I want to kiss her, _was the only coherent thought running through his mind. _I can't! _He told himself fiercely. _She has a boyfriend – a jackass boyfriend who doesn't treat her right – but he's still a boyfriend. It's not him that I care about – it's her. I don't want to put her through all that guilt; I know what Ally's like._

_I want to kiss him, _Ally thought, still staring at him. _NO! I can't; how will he react? Besides, even though Dallas has upset me, what does that say about me if I kiss Austin? I still have a boyfriend – I can't cheat; it's wrong._

Austin and Ally both quickly looked away. Chuckling nervously, he stood up and offered her his hand. Gratefully, she accepted his help and allowed him to pull her up.

"Maybe we should shower first," he laughed, glancing down at her and then at himself. "I stink of eggs, and you have flour in your hair."

Ally chuckled. "Okay."

Austin led her upstairs to the bathroom. She followed, glancing around his house and smiling at the familiarity. Nothing had changed; and she still got that warm feeling in the pit of her stomach, of feeling at home and comfort. Austin opened the airing cupboard and pulled out two clean towels, before chuckling at Ally's clothes.

"Do you wanna borrow a shirt?" he asked.

"Yes please," she grinned shyly. Austin smiled and motioned for her to follow him into his room. He tugged his shirt off over his head and tossed it into a random corner of his bedroom. Ally tried not to stare at his chest too much as he pulled a plain white v-neck t-shirt from his closet and chucked it at her.

"Thanks," she smiled, focusing her eyes on his face, and his face only.

"It's cool. Do you wanna borrow a pair of my mom's jeans?" he enquired.

"No, it's okay, my shorts only got flour on them, I can clean them easily," Ally assured him, making her way to the bathroom. Austin followed and began to show her how the shower worked. She forced herself to pay attention instead of zoning out over the evident muscles in his arms, and once he was finished, he stepped back with a smirk.

"Were you just checking me out?" he asked.

Ally rolled her eyes, flushing slightly. "Don't flatter yourself, Monica."

Austin laughed loudly, beginning to leave the room. "Hey, whatever you say, Allyson."

Ally glared at his retreating figure. "Careful, Austin, your head's swelling up."

He simply continued to laugh, shutting the door behind him. Ally exhaled, and began to carefully peel her sodden t-shirt off. As the hot water of the shower trickled down her body, she couldn't help but think of Austin. The way his brown eyes had seemed to just turn to melted milk chocolate...and how close he'd been. Had they been having a moment? _Two moments? _What was happening? Ally groaned aloud, resting her head against the wall. Was she beginning to have feelings for Austin? _No, of course not, _she scoffed. But then she thought about his eyes, his smile, his touch...well, crap. Ally closed her eyes. The answer was yes. She _was _beginning to have feelings for Austin.

* * *

**A/N: again, thank you for reading and reviewing. Please let me know what you think; I appreciate every single review! You guys keep me motivated to write, so thank you :) **


	15. Karaoke & Punches

**A/N: Okay, I know it's ben 5 months since I've updated, and all I can really say is I am so sorry :') I'll be honest, I just lost inspiration with this story, and I started writing other things, and I just didn't ever feel like writing an update. And I'm so so so so so sorry :') but here, I have picked it up again, and I swear I'm gonna try harder to update, because I have a really good idea of where I want this to go. Thank you so much for your reviews and support, and thank you for bearing with me. So here's the very overdue chapter 15; I hope you enjoy :D xx**

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A pair of hands covered Ally's eyes as she worked behind the counter at Sonic Boom, and she grinned, relaxing into him.

"Austin," she giggled, grabbing his hands and pulling them away from her eyes. But she didn't let him go. Austin wrapped his arms around her in a hug, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked amusedly.

She shrugged. "Just did."

"Hey there, lovebirds," Trish's voice sang as she walked into the store, smirking at the pair of them.

Austin kept his arms around Ally, who stuck her tongue out childishly at Trish.

"We're not lovebirds," she scoffed.

"But they are," Austin grinned, looking toward the entrance. Trish and Ally both glanced over to see Dez and Mindy standing by the door. Mindy was smiling patronisingly at him, and patting his cheek a little too hard. Dez looked terrified as she kissed him full on the mouth. Ally glanced over at Trish, and noticed that her best friend had clenched her hands into fists, and was looking away adamantly.

"Bye, bye Dezzy-cakes," Mindy cooed, before turning and stomping away. Austin watched in amusement as his friend trailed miserably into the store and lay across the counter, staring longingly out the window. Trish glared at him and said nothing, getting her cell phone out and beginning to violently type on the keyboard. Austin released Ally and prodded Dez.

"You okay, man?" he asked.

"No," he exhaled dramatically. "She's taking over my life."

"Are you dating her?" Ally asked, trying to hide the amusement in her voice.

"No – yeah, maybe," he shrugged. "She definitely thinks we're dating."

"Can't you just explain to her that you're not with her?" Austin asked.

"Have you seen her?" Dez sat up and stared at them as if they were mental. "She's built like a wall, and not to mention, she's captain of the wrestling team – the boys wrestling team! She'll beat me up if I tell her that! She scares the bejeebus out of me."

"I think she's just lonely," Ally decided.

"Whatever," Trish interjected. "What are you losers up to today anyway?"

Austin shrugged. "I was just gonna stalk Ally all day," he grinned.

Ally laughed. "I was just gonna get stalked by Austin all day."

"Well, Mindy's going to her grandma's for the day, so it looks like I'm free," Dez said.

"Well, why don't we do something together? I can't remember the last time Team Austin went out together for fun," Trish said.

"That's a great idea, Trish," Ally smiled. "What do you want to do?"

"I say we build the first ever musical instruments domino course!" Dez said excitedly.

"As tempting as that sounds," Trish rolled her eyes sarcastically. "I was thinking we could go to the beach. They're having a beach party down there this afternoon as a fundraiser for a charity I can't remember the name of. There's gonna be dancing, karaoke, volleyball and games. It starts in about an hour and finishes at ten o'clock tonight."

"That sounds awesome," Austin grinned.

"Well, the store shuts in half an hour," Ally smiled. "You wanna meet here in an hour and we can leave together?"

"Okay," Trish beamed, while Austin and Dez also nodded in agreement. It was a date.

* * *

Ally stared at herself nervously in the mirror, smoothing down her dress. She was wearing a sleeveless orange dress, made from gauzy material with a tight bodice, and a flowing skirt that just grazed the top of her knee. She'd left her soft brown curls loose, and her makeup was subtle. She glanced over at the clock, and noted that she had fifteen minutes until she needed to meet her friends. Well, it took ten minutes to get there, so she might as well leave now.

Grabbing her purse and jean jacket, Ally left the house, calling out goodbyes to her dad and Charlotte.

* * *

When she got there, she found Austin was already there waiting. He was leaning against the wall, obviously talking to someone on the phone. He looked pretty agitated, and Ally wondered who he was talking to. As he saw her, he waved, muttered what she guessed was a goodbye to whoever he was talking to, and then hung up.

"Hey, Als," he smiled as she approached him, tucking his phone away in his pocket. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "You look beautiful."

If only he knew how much of an effect that one simple touch, and those three words had on her inside. The touch had her stomach swooping with butterflies; the beautiful, fluttery kind. And those words had her blushing, and honestly actually feeling beautiful and special. She smiled and looked at her sandals, embarrassed and pleased.

"Thanks, Austin," she murmured, glancing up at him. "Who was that on the phone?"

"Oh," he glanced down at the floor, then back up again, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just my dad. It was nothing important."

"Are you sure? You looked pretty annoyed," she pressed.

"Yeah," he shook his head dismissively. "Really, it's nothing, Als."

Ally opened her mouth to question it further, when Dez arrived, wearing flowery Hawaiian shorts and a bright polo shirt, and carrying his video camera.

"Hey, man," Austin said, relieved that he didn't have to answer Ally's questions.

"Hey," Dez grinned. "Where's Trish? I only noticed cos I've been here ten seconds and she hasn't insulted me."

"Hey, losers," Trish called, making her way toward them. Ally stared at her best friend with a huge grin. She looked _gorgeous! _Not that she didn't always, but Ally could tell she'd made extra effort for this. She was wearing a pale pink halter-strap Maxi dress, embroidered with silver sequins. Her curly black hair was wrapped in a bun that just scraped the nape of her neck, leaving tendrils of her hair framing her cheeks. Dangling from her ears were the crystal earrings Ally had gotten her for her sixteenth birthday – she didn't even know Trish had kept them.

"Trish, you look gorgeous," Ally smiled, hugging her friend.

"Oh, thanks," she replied, sounding nonplussed.

Dez seemed lost for words as he stared at Trish with a dazed expression on his face. She glared at him.

"Are you just gonna stand there, or shall we start heading down to the beach?" she huffed impatiently, but Ally didn't miss the blush creeping to her best friend's cheeks.

Dez still didn't reply, and just continued to stare. Austin chuckled and dug the redhead in the ribs. He broke out of his trance and nodded.

"Yeah!" he hastily turned around and began to walk briskly. Austin shot a smile at the pair of them, before hurrying to catch Dez up. Ally smiled at Trish as they began to walk.

"You could go a little easier on him, you know," she chuckled.

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about," Trish said innocently.

"Well, I just mean, you could try being nice to him," Ally said gently. "Then maybe he wouldn't freak out so much around you."

"Ally, I'm lost," she said. "Are you trying to imply that Dez likes me? Because that would be gross."

"You're a terrible liar," she rolled her eyes.

As they neared the beach, the smell of burgers and hotdogs reached them from the barbeque, and they could already hear shouting, laughing and music. The beach was densely populated with kids and teenagers mostly; flocking around food stalls, dancing to the music and cheering each other at volleyball.

"I'm hungry," Dez said immediately. "I'm gonna go grab a burger. Uh, Trish? You wanna come with me?"

"Uh, yeah," she nodded, not meeting his eyes. "I'm starving."

Austin and Ally both watched as their friends walked off awkwardly together toward the barbeque. Austin grinned down at her.

"Are they getting together?" he asked.

"Maybe," Ally giggled. "Isn't it great?"

"Yeah…and a little weird," he grinned. "I didn't see that one coming."

"Yeah, me neither," she agreed.

"You wanna dance with me?" he asked abruptly, offering her his hand.

She smiled and took his hand, feeling sparks shoot up her arm. "I'd love to."

* * *

Eventually, the sun set and the evening cooled down slightly. The sky was a beautiful pinkish orange colour, and the setting golden sun shot fiery arrows of orange across the sea. The majority of people had migrated over to the stage, where the band was setting up for karaoke. Ally had spent most of the day with Austin, whether they were dancing, eating, playing in the sea or just talking, she knew she hadn't had this much fun in a long time. She hadn't thought once about Dallas, and how pissed off she was with him for threatening Austin. In fact, all she'd thought about all day was how much she truly liked Austin. Part of her just wanted to tell him, but another part of her felt so nervous. They'd always been strictly friend-zoned, and nothing had ever changed that. But now these feelings for him…they were changing everything, and she wasn't sure if she was ready for that.

Meanwhile, Trish and Dez had also spent the whole day together too. Ally kept catching them together, and the smile that lit up Trish's face was genuine and happy, and she never once insulted him or hit him. And he looked extremely happy too. They were standing together now, a little bit closer to the stage, whereas Austin and Ally were further back.

"Hey, guys!" a blonde woman on the stage called into the microphone. "My name is Caroline, and I'll be hosting the karaoke tonight! Now, as you can see, the band are setting up, and while they do that, can I see a show of hands for volunteers?"

A couple of girls Ally recognised to be cheerleaders raised their hands, giggling. Caroline motioned for them to come up, so together, three of them hurried up onto the stage and grabbed the microphone.

"We were wondering if Austin Moon would sing a song," the tallest girl giggled breathily, her gaze finding Austin with the intensity of a laser beam.

The crowd cheered at this, and Austin groaned quietly, but he was smiling a little. Ally grinned and cheered along with them, clapping and laughing.

"You're coming with me," he smirked, grabbing her hand.

"No, I'm not!" she giggled. "The people have spoken – and they want you."

"Well, we're a package deal," he said, holding her hand firmly. "Come on, they'll pick a cheesy duet for us, and we'll sing it together. How bad can it be?"

The microphone was passed down to Austin, who grinned down at Ally.

"Sorry, guys, I'll only perform if my partner Ally Dawson joins me," he said, earning loud cheers from the crowd.

"Come on, Ally!"

"Go on, Ally!"

"Go, Ally!"

That was the general response. Ally glared at Austin, who simply chuckled gleefully.

"AL-LY! AL-LY!" Dez and Trish started chanting her name, which of course, set the rest of the crowd off.

"AL-LY! AL-LY!" Caroline joined in the cheering, and eventually, Ally caved and grabbed the microphone.

"Alright, alright, what are we singing?" she asked, and the crowd clapped eagerly. The pair of them were ushered up onto the stage, and Caroline began to scan through the list of songs available.

"Do you guys know _Lucky, _by Jason Mraz and Colbie Callait?" she asked.

Ally's heart flipped. Of course she knew that song! Austin nodded, and without really any other choice, Ally also nodded. The pair of them were handed microphones, and then they faced each other and Ally smiled as the band began to play the familiar melody.

Austin sang first, smiling at her as he sang; his chocolate brown eyes gentle, but also intense.

_Do you hear me? I'm talking to you,  
Across the water across the deep blue ocean,  
Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying_

The sound of his soft, beautiful voice had Ally beaming, and it gave her the courage to sing the next part.

_Boy I hear you in my dreams,  
I feel you whisper across the sea  
I keep you with me in my heart,  
You make it easier when life gets hard_

They both began to sing the chorus together, and the crowd began to clap along, swaying and dancing together.

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend  
Lucky to have been where I have been  
Lucky to be coming home again  
Ooh ooh ooh_

As they sang the rest of the song, Ally couldn't help but feel the butterflies in the pit of her stomach roar to life and flutter anxiously and frantically around in her stomach. Because every word she was singing was completely and utterly true. She was totally, absolutely and madly in love with Austin Moon. As the song ended, they were both face to face, and Ally opened her mouth to tell him. But she was cut off by an angry yell from the crowd, and the sound of a fist punching flesh.

* * *

**A/N: I know this chapter was a bit of of a filler, but it all kicks of next chapter, which I will post ASAP. And I mean it this time. Thank you so much for reading! Love you all :) xx**


	16. Break-Ups & Close-Calls

**Break-Ups & Close-Calls **

Austin and Ally jumped apart and both whipped around to stare at the audience. Ally's jaw dropped. Trent had thrown himself at Dallas, and had punched him straight in the mouth. Dallas growled, and immediately retaliated by aiming a punch at Trent, who dodged it nimbly and punched Dallas again. But this time, as Trent went in for a third punch, Dallas tackled him and hit him furiously.

"Dallas, you're hurting him!" Cecilia cried, trying to pull him off, but Dallas wouldn't relent. He continued to punch Trent in the face and stomach.

Austin immediately jumped off the stage and the crowd parted so he could get through. Ally followed him, running forward toward the two yelling and fighting guys. A couple of guys pulled Dallas off Trent, and Austin helped Trent up, holding him back as he tried to run for Dallas again.

"Let me go, Austin!" Trent shouted, trying to run at Dallas. But he'd been brutally punched, to the point where his right eye was already swelling, and there were cuts and bruises all over his face.

"Trent, stop," Austin said calmly, hanging on tightly to him.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Dallas roared, also trying to break free from the guys holding him. Ally glanced over at Cecilia, who was staring at Trent, and crying.

"Don't pretend you don't know!" Trent yelled raggedly at him.

"Dallas, what's going on?" Ally demanded.

"Tell her," Trent hissed. "Go on, you pretentious asshole, tell her the truth!"

Dallas growled and pulled out of the grips of his friends, before stalking his way over to Trent and Austin.

"Stop!" Ally jumped in front of him. "Tell me what, Dallas?"

Dallas sneered over at Trent. "Alright, then Ally, I'll tell you the truth. I've been fucking Trent's girlfriend, Cecilia, and he can't stand the fact that she wants me, and not his pathetic ass."

Trent growled and managed to slip past Austin, who had let go of him in shock. Ally felt like Dallas had punched her right in the heart. She was frozen in horror as Trent punched Dallas hard in the face, and then kicked him in the groin. With a groan, Dallas fell to his knees, swearing in agony. Trent turned on Cecilia, and the anger on his face changed to hurt.

"How could you?" he demanded brokenly. _"Why?"_

"Trent, please let me explain," she began desperately, but he cut her off.

"How long?" he said coldly. "How long have you been sleeping with him?"

She sniffled. "Trent, please."

"Answer me!" he shouted.

"Two weeks," she exhaled tearfully. "But it didn't mean anything to me – you do! I love _you! _And I'm so, so sorry, I made a mistake!"

"I loved you," he said brokenly, and Ally felt tears well in her eyes at the hurt in his voice. "I really did."

"Trent, please," Cecilia begged, but he turned and stormed off. Austin stood by Ally and touched her hand.

"Come on, Als," he whispered.

"No, I'm not done here," she said, glowering as Dallas lifted himself up off the ground to face her.

"Ally, I know that looked bad," he said, but Ally cut him off.

"_Looked bad?" _she demanded. _"Looked bad? _For weeks you've been getting down on my back about me spending time with Austin, while you've been _sleeping with another girl? _You have never treated me right, Dallas, and in case it isn't obvious for you, this horrible, twisted thing between us is over! I never _ever _want to see you again. I hate you," she spat out.

Dallas glowered down at her, and took a threatening step toward her. Austin immediately slipped in front of Ally, narrowing his eyes at Dallas.

"Back off," he said, and the usual light happiness that filled his voice was long gone. His voice was deadly, quiet and dangerous.

Dallas scoffed. "Why don't you just hit me already, you dick? I know you want to, and believe me, I've wanted to mess your face up since the day I met you."

"I do believe you," Austin shot back. "But I'm not going to fight you. Come on, Ally," he took her hand, and they were about to walk away to find Trent, when Dallas spoke up again.

"You can have the bitch," he sneered, narrowing his eyes maliciously at Ally. "And have fun with her. When you're done with her, you can just bring her right back to me, though," he taunted.

Austin growled, ripped his hand out of Ally's, whipped around and punched Dallas hard in the face. As he fell to the ground, shocked, the crowd began to cheer.

"Get up," Austin hissed. "On second thought, it'd be my pleasure to beat the crap out of you."

"Austin, don't," Ally grabbed his arm. "He's not worth it."

Austin stared at her for a moment, and the fire in his eyes died. He nodded, but then grabbed Dallas by the front of his shirt.

"Don't you _ever _talk about Ally that way again," he snarled. "You're a pathetic, worthless little shit, and now everyone else knows it too. You stay the hell away from her, or I swear, I will make you. You can go to hell," Austin spat out, chucking him back down on the floor and turning away. Ally grabbed his hand, and together, they left the crowd of gaping onlookers.

* * *

Trent was nowhere to be found, so in the end, Ally decided she would just talk to him at school. In the end, she decided she wanted nothing more to go home, so Austin walked her back. As they arrived at her house, Austin sighed.

"Ally, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, actually," she nodded. "I know I should be more upset that Dallas cheated on me, but a part of me doesn't even care. Things were ending between us anyway," she took a step toward him and touched his hand. "Thank you, Austin, for sticking up for me today."

He smiled down at her. "Anytime," he said gently.

She stared up at him, almost feeling frustrated that he hadn't kissed her yet. His brown eyes were melting again as he just stared at her, and then slowly, he lifted his hand and brushed the side of her face gently, pushing her hair away from her cheek. Ally's heart began to speed up, and her stomach swooped and soared anxiously with butterflies. He leaned down very slowly, never taking his eyes off her. His lips were inches from hers when his cell phone rang shrilly, completely and utterly ruining the moment.

They both jumped away from each other, and Austin sighed tiredly, taking his phone wearily from his pocket.

"I – I should take this," he muttered. "I'll see you tomorrow, Als."

She nodded, struggling to find her voice. "O-okay," she stammered, watching with disappointment as he shot her one last smile, and then began to walk away, holding the phone to his ear as he walked. Sighing, Ally opened the front gate and entered her house, in a trance. She'd been seconds away from kissing her best friend! She leaned against the front door, stunned. That was way too close. Part of her was kind of mad that he answered his phone. Couldn't he have just ignored it? But then another, more reasonable voice spoke up. _The moment was ruined anyway. Besides, you literally just got out of a relationship. Don't rush things with Austin – you don't want to ruin what you already have. Just take things slow._

* * *

The week at school crawled by _very_ slowly for Ally. She was at rehearsals literally every day after school, and now it was Friday, which meant tonight was open night. Austin had been acting weird all week. He'd been distracted, and distant, and spent a lot of time on his phone. Ally couldn't even begin to imagine what was going on with her best friend, but she was too afraid to confront him. Whenever she questioned his behaviour with an 'are you okay', he would nod hurriedly and convince her with a chilled smile and wink that he was fine. So Ally had left it at that; convincing herself that if it was really important, Austin would tell her.

Ally hadn't spoken to Dallas since they broke up. She'd expected him to get with Cecilia, but surprisingly, the bitch had been trying her hardest to make it up to Trent. Trent, on the other hand wanted nothing to do with her, and kept his distance from her. It had been yesterday when he'd dropped irrationally out of the play; when they'd been at rehearsals and he refused to kiss Cecilia. Ally had hurried after him after Mr Avalon practically had a mental breakdown, and managed to talk some sense into him.

"Trent?" she called, sitting next to him on the bleachers. "You okay?"

"Not really," he'd sighed. "I can't do the play, Ally. Not if I have to smile and sing with her, and act like everything's okay. I can't even look at her without wanting to cry like a baby, and I can't look at Dallas without wanting to tear his head off."

"You and me both," she said grimly.

Trent glanced over at her. "Oh, man, I'm sorry, Ally. I forgot…he hurt you too."

"No, it's okay," she shrugged. "Toward the end of it, I don't think I really loved him anymore."

"Well, yeah," he grinned. "You're in love with Austin. What relationship can last if you're in love with someone else?"

Ally did a double take. "How do you know that?" she stammered.

He shrugged, chuckling. "It's kind of obvious, Ally."

She groaned and blushed, burying her face in her hands. Trent laughed, and elbowed her.

"When are you going to tell him?" he asked.

"I – I don't know," she sighed. "When the time's right, I guess. Then again, when is the time right?"

"Don't wait, Ally," he advised seriously. "When you love someone, you just have to tell them. There's no point in bottling it up and torturing yourself…just get it off your chest. I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with the outcome."

Ally smiled. "Thanks, Trent. Look, I know that you're hurt and angry with Cecilia, and I don't blame you. And I know that every time you see her you feel that pain all over again…trust me, I've been there. When Austin left, something as simple as an email from him set me off. But I got better…and Trent, it does get better in time. And I know dropping out of the play might save you some of the hurt, but I also know that you really wanted to do the play. I see you in rehearsals – you love performing, and you love being Danny. What I'm saying is, don't let this stop you from doing what you love. It's our senior year, and it's the last chance you're gonna get at this. And, we can't really do this without you – your understudy kinda sucks."

Trent snorted with laughter and nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

"So? Are you going to do the play?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah," he grinned. "Let's do this."

* * *

Trish examined her reflection briefly in the hallway mirror, fastening a pair of earrings in her ears and re-applying her lip-gloss. Just as she grabbed her handbag, there was a knock on the door. Trish dumped her bag down and shuffled over to answer the door. Standing there on her front porch was Dez. He was dressed _nicely, _in a simple blue shirt and jeans, and he was carrying a bunch of carrots in his hands.

"Dez? What are you doing here, and why do you have carrots?" she asked curiously.

He shrugged. "I thought we could walk to the play together. And the carrots are for you – I remember you quit your job at the florists because you were allergic to the flowers – so I got you carrots instead."

Trish couldn't help but smile as she accepted the carrots. "I can't believe you remember that. That was two years ago."

"I may not be the brightest, but I _do _remember some things, you know," he grinned. "So, shall we go now?"

"Sure," Trish grabbed her handbag, and placed the carrots on the side. "Love to."

* * *

Ally peered through the gap in the curtain nervously. The auditorium was filling up rapidly, and she was beginning to feel anxious. Austin wasn't here yet either, which was making her feel even more nervous. However, she quickly spotted Trish and Dez walking in together, and her dad and Charlotte were sitting in the second row, talking.

She let the curtain fall shut, and slowly she returned to the piano. The piano had been moved to the far corner of the stage, so unfortunately, she would be on stage while she played. Thankfully, the back of the piano faced the audience, so she could block out their faces. She was wearing a simple, black skater dress, and Austin's necklace. Sighing, she dug her phone from her bag and texted him.

_Where are you? Als xx_

He replied literally seconds later, just as Mr Avalon hushed the audience and started to make his speech.

_On my way. A xx_

Ally sighed and quickly took her seat at the piano. The audience began to clap as the curtain was lifted. The show had begun.

* * *

**A/N: heehee, another update just for you guys! :D please read and review, all feedback is appreciated! Thanks for reading, I'll update soon :) xx**


	17. Understudies & Surprises

The first act went by smoothly. Austin arrived late, just as the curtain fell for the intermission. He ran up to her, breathing heavily from running; his blonde hair even more tousled than usual and his expression tired.

"Austin, are you okay?" Ally asked in concern. "Where were you?"

"I'm so sorry I'm late," he sighed. "I, uh, I got caught up."

"Austin, is something going on?" she enquired. "It's just, you've been so distracted lately, and I know you keep saying it's nothing, but I'm not sure if I believe you."

"Ally, I'm fine," he assured her. "I was babysitting for my neighbours again, and their parents got back later than I expected. That's it."

"Really?" she said doubtfully.

"Really," he leaned in quickly and kissed her forehead. "Come on – the intermission's almost over. You need to get back to the piano."

"Okay," she nodded, smiling at his kiss.

"Oh, before I forget," he grinned. "What are you doing after this tonight?"

"Nothing," she smiled. "Why?"

"Feel like getting some Chinese food and pizza and pulling an all-nighter at Sonic Boom?" he asked.

"I'd love to," Ally beamed. "Wait for me after this."

"You got it," he winked at her, before disappearing backstage. Ally smiled, feeling all fluttery and giggly as she took her seat at the piano.

* * *

Act Two was all going smoothly. Ally had played every piece flawlessly, and she was getting ready to play "You're The One That I Want." However, suddenly, the curtain fell, and Ally could hear Trent on the other side of the curtain.

"We're experiencing some technical difficulties," he said. "But I'm gonna sing a song for you."

Ally could hear a guitar being played, and then Trent was singing. She jumped up in surprise, just as Mr Avalon and Austin hurried over to her.

"What's going on?" she asked curiously. "What happened?"

"Cecilia's throwing up in the girls bathroom," Austin said. "She can't perform the last song."

"Oh, so is her understudy ready for the part?" she enquired.

"No," Mr Avalon looked ready to cry. "Her understudy didn't bother turning up."

"So what are we gonna do?" Ally asked.

"Well, we thought that maybe you could go on," Austin suggested. Some of the other performers in the play had begun to gather around them, and all nodded as Austin suggested this.

"That's brilliant!" one of the girls said. "Ally, you'd be amazing as Sandy – way better than Cecilia."

"No way!" Ally gasped. "I can't go on! I – I don't have the costume or the makeup."

"All backstage," Mr Avalon said excitedly. "Just get ready quickly! We don't have much time."

"Mr Avalon, I can't," Ally protested, but Austin cut her off.

"Yes, you can, Ally," he told her firmly. "I know you know this song off by heart, and it's not like you have stage fright anymore! You're a confident, beautiful girl, and they're going to love you."

Some of the girls behind Austin were _aww-_ing and making loved-up faces at each other, while others were waggling their eyebrows at Ally.

"I'll be up there with you – I'm filling for piano," he winked.

Ally sighed, and thought about Trent, who despite not wanting to face Cecilia, had still done the play. It would be slightly hypocritical of her to convince him to do the show if she wasn't going to.

"Alright!" she caved.

"Yes!" they all cheered. "You've got two minutes, Ally," Mr Avalon said. "Change fast."

* * *

Moments later, Ally hobbled backstage in the high heels she had to wear. She was feeling extraordinarily uncomfortable in the tight, black cat suit, black leather jacket and high heels she had to wear. Cecilia was watching her enviously, holding a sick bucket next to her and glowering at Ally.

Austin's eyes widened when he saw her, and his jaw dropped. His eyes trailed over her body in amazement.

"Whoa," he grinned, looking dazed. "Ally you look…"

"Don't say it," she snapped. "And keep your eyes up here," she pointed to her face impatiently.

Austin laughed and held his hands up. "Sorry. I was only gonna say that you look really hot."

She glared, and was relieved that it was dark backstage so he wouldn't be able to see the blush in her cheeks.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered, as the curtain was lifted and the play was resumed. She strutted on stage, followed by the other girls, doing her best not to trip in the heels. Immediately, the crowd began to cheer for her, clapping and whooping. Ally was so caught off guard, she nearly tripped, as her heart swelled with happiness. They were all clapping for her! She'd expected booing, considering she wasn't Cecilia, but this was quite the opposite.

"Sandy?" Trent exclaimed, his eyes widening. Only she caught the encouraging smile he sent her way.

Internally cringing, Ally delivered her next line in the sluttiest voice she could manage.

"Tell me about it, stud."

Austin began to play the piano, and because she was nearest to him, she could hear him laughing quietly to himself.

Trent began to sing, ripping his jacket off in the process and grinning at Ally.

_I got chills_

_They're multiplying_

_And I'm losing control_

_'Cause the power you're supplying_

_It's electrifying!_

Taking a deep breath, Ally began to sing Sandy's lines.

_You better shape up_

_'Cause I need a man_

_And my heart is set on you_

_You better shape up_

_You better understand_

_To my heart I must be true_

"_Nothing left, nothing left for me to do," _the pair of them sang, and then they went into the chorus.

_You're the one that I want._

_(You are the one I want), ooh, ooh, ooh, honey._

_The one that I want._

_(You are the one I want), ooh, ooh, ooh, honey._

_The one that I want_

_(You are the one I want), ooh, ooh, oooooh_

_The one I need._

_Oh, yes indeed._

As they sang the rest of the song, Ally found herself dancing across the stage with Trent, feeling increasingly comfortable and less nervous by the second. This was fun! Her voice rang clearly and flawlessly across the hall, and at the end, when the song ended, the audience burst into applause, and a _standing ovation! _Austin whistled loudly, and as Ally turned around to grin at him, he winked at her and mouthed five words.

"_I'm so proud of you."_

* * *

After the play, and after she'd been congratulated at least fifty times, Ally hurriedly changed back into her black skater dress. As she left the changing room, she came face to face with Cecilia.

"Excuse me," she said pointedly. "I have to go."

Cecilia sighed. "Congratulations, Dawson. They all loved you. Hope you're happy."

"I didn't ask for that, you know," she snapped irritably. "It's not my fault your understudy couldn't make it. Now please, _excuse me."_

"Look," she sighed through clenched teeth. "I actually came here as a feeble attempt to do the right thing."

"What do you mean?" Ally exhaled impatiently.

"Maybe it's the fever talking, or maybe I just really want to prove to Trent that I am a good person," she began. "But I want to apologise to you."

Ally's eyes widened in amusement, and she folded her arms. "This should be good."

"Can you please not make this any more difficult than it already is?" she retorted through gritted teeth.

"My bad," Ally said sarcastically. "Go ahead. The floor's yours. You have one minute before I actually run you over to get out of here."

Cecilia sighed. "Okay. I'm sorry, Ally. I'm sorry that I've been a total bitch to you this year, and all the years before that, but I'm mostly sorry for sleeping with your boyfriend. It was so wrong, and it never meant anything! We were drunk one night, and then it just happened, and after that…"

"Yeah? What happened after that when you were sober?" Ally said coldly. "What's your excuse for hurting Trent then?"

"Hurting Trent is the single most stupidest thing I've ever done! Losing him was my biggest regret, because he is the best, nicest guy I've ever met, and he treated me _right," _Cecilia sighed. "Look, I didn't come here to apologise for Trent. I came here to say I'm sorry that I slept with Dallas."

Ally shook her head. "I know you didn't come here to talk about Trent. But I'm not angry with you because it was Dallas – in fact, I think he's a total douchebag, and I have no idea what either of us saw in him. I'm angry with you because Trent is my friend, and you hurt him. You may not have come here to talk about Trent, but you can't just apologise for certain things. You have to take responsibility for this, and realise that sorry isn't going to fix it."

Cecilia looked close to tears. "Jesus, Ally, I _am _taking responsibility for this! I know what I did was wrong, and I have to fix it because I love Trent too much to let him go!"

Ally sighed. "I appreciate you apologising to me…but if you really love Trent, then you'll give him time. He's hurt, and apologising won't fix this quickly. Time is the best way to heal a wound, Cecilia."

And with that Ally slipped past Cecilia, who let her go this time. Well, that was bizarre. Cecilia Swan just tried to apologise to her…wow.

* * *

As Trish and Dez left the school together laughing about something, they were stopped as Mindy appeared in front of them; red in the face and breathing heavily with anger.

"Where the hell have you been, Dez?" she demanded. "You've been avoiding me all week, and now you're spending time with _her?" _

"Uh, I have a name," Trish snapped irritably.

"Yeah, and I don't care," Mindy hissed. "Dez, we're leaving." She grabbed his arm and attempted to pull him away, but Dez shook his head.

"No," he said firmly, pulling back. "I have somewhere to be, with Trish. You and I are not dating, okay, Mindy? I only put up with you because you scare the poo out of me."

Trish smiled at him, actually feeling proud of the carrot-topped weirdo. Mindy, on the other hand, wasn't taking it as well. Her face had reddened even more, and she took a threatening step toward the pair of them.

"Excuse me?" she hissed, her voice quivering with anger.

"Back off, nutcase," Trish snapped, grabbing Dez's hand and pulling him away from her. "We'll be leaving now."

"Uh, I don't think so," Mindy said, stepping squarely in front of them.

Trish sighed. "Look, Mindy, we can do this the easy way, or the Trish way. The easy way will result in a lot less humiliation and pain on your side. Take your pick."

Mindy glowered down at her. "I say we do this _my _way." She raised her fist to hit Trish. Dez pointed behind them.

"Oh my God, it's Justin Bieber!" he yelled.

Mindy whipped around in shock. "Where?"

"Run!" he whispered, and laughing, the pair of them took off. Mindy yelled angrily after them, but she didn't bother chasing them. Trish was laughing hysterically as Dez dragged her along, until eventually, he couldn't run anymore either from laughter.

"I…can't believe she…bought that!" Trish huffed between fits of laughter.

"Yeah, she kept going on about Justin Bieber," Dez snorted. "Huh. Listening even for a second actually paid off. Come on, we're gonna be late."

The pair of them continued to walk, still laughing about the Justin Bieber thing. It was only as Dez started to tell her a story about something random when Trish realised their hands were still laced together. And it felt so natural that she hadn't even noticed until now.

* * *

When Ally stepped outside, she immediately spotted Austin by his car waiting for her. He smiled and waved as she approached him.

"Hey," she smiled. "Thanks for waiting for me."

"No problem," he smiled, opening the car door for her. "You ready to go?"

"Sure," she nodded, getting in. Austin pulled out of the parking lot, and as they drove, he switched on the CD player, and _Double Take_ began to play.

Ally laughed. "Oh my goodness, I haven't listened to this in a long time! Where did you get it? You never released it officially, like on a CD."

"Yeah, but we always recorded demos, remember?" he grinned. "You kept a copy, and I did. I've never thrown any of them out – they're the first songs you ever wrote for me."

"Technically, I didn't write this one for you," she smirked. "You stole it."

Austin rolled his eyes, but he was laughing. "Are you ever going to truly get over that?" he wondered amusedly.

"Probably not," she joked, as they pulled over in the mall's parking lot. Ally wrapped her arm lazily around Austin's waist as they walked, and he slung his arm over her shoulder. As they neared Sonic Boom, Ally dug in her bag for her keys, and found that they weren't there.

"Austin," she sighed. "I don't have my keys! We're gonna have to go to my house, or something. I don't think it's gonna be an all-nighter, though."

Austin grinned. "About that…" he pushed the doors open, and disco lights and a bunch of her friends were the first thing to meet Ally's stunned eyes.

"SURPRISE!"

* * *

A/N: thank you for reading and for your reviews! Please let me know what you think :) xx


	18. Parties & Broken Boundaries

Ally jumped in surprise, and a huge smile spread across her face. Disco lights had been set up, as well as a disco ball that sent sparkles flying around the room. There was a huge banner strung across the balcony that read _Happy 18__th__ Birthday, Ally! _Music was blaring through the speakers, and all of her friends and family were standing there, laughing at the look on her face.

"Oh my gosh!" for once, Ally was lost for words as she stared at Austin with a huge grin on her face. "I can't believe this!"

He laughed. "I know your birthday's officially tomorrow, but we wanted to throw you a party tonight, in light of the play and everything."

Ally threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Austin, it's perfect! Thank you!"

Austin laughed and hugged her back, holding her close. However, it was only brief, and then she was being pulled away by her friends and family; all telling her how well she did at the play, and wishing her a happy birthday. Ally caught Austin's eye as she talked to a couple of girls from the play. He was just smiling at her, and his expression was happy. He was happy seeing her so happy.

* * *

About half an hour into the party, Austin jumped up onto the stage and the music quietened.

"Hey, guys!" he called into the microphone.

Everyone, including Ally, clapped and whooped for him. He chuckled a little, before continuing.

"Ally, I just want to say that you're my best friend. We've been through so much together, and I know I missed two years of your life," he smiled ruefully. "And despite everything that happened, I know they were two of the most miserable years of my life. I honestly don't know what to do without you."

Ally smiled and blushed as her friends all _aww-_ed. She was truly touched, and her heart just seemed to soar happily.

"So, uh, I wrote this for you, Ally. Happy Birthday," Austin grinned. "Dez, hit it."

Dez hit play on the laptop, and a melody began to play through the speakers. Austin smiled at Ally and began to sing.

_I can't win, I can't reign_

_I will never win this game_

_Without you, without you_

_I am lost, I am vain,_

_I will never be the same_

_Without you, without you_

The beat picked up a little, and Austin began to tap his foot in time with the tune.

_I won't run, I won't fly_

_I will never make it by_

_Without you, without you_

_I can't rest, I can't fight_

_All I need is you and I,_

_Without you, without…you!_

Austin pointed at her with a grin on his face as he sang the chorus.

_Oh oh oh!_

_You! You! You!_

_Without..._

_You! You! You!_

_Without...you_

Ally stared at Austin as her stomach swooped and soared with butterflies. He began to sing the next verse, looking directly at her. Her friends pushed her forward, so she was right in front of him as he sang to her.

_Can't erase, so I'll take blame_

_But I can't accept that we're estranged_

_Without you, without you_

_I can't quit now, this can't be right_

_I can't take one more sleepless night_

_Without you, without you_

_I won't soar, I won't climb_

_If you're not here, I'm paralyzed_

_Without you, without you_

_I can't look, I'm so blind_

_I lost my heart, I lost my mind_

_Without you, without…you!_

_Oh oh oh!_

_You! You! You!_

_Without..._

_You! You! You!_

_Without...you_

The melody grew quieter, and Austin jumped down so he was right in front of her. There were literally inches between them now, and Austin's eyes were gentle as he sang to her, and only her.

_I am lost, I am vain,_

_I will never be the same_

_Without you, without you_

_Without you._

The audience erupted in clapping and screaming, but all Ally could think of was how close she was to Austin, and how much she wanted to kiss him after that song.

"That was amazing," she murmured. "You really wrote that for me?"

"Course I did," he smiled. "And I meant every word of it."

Ally leaned up to kiss him, impulsively knowing that this was what she wanted. But then she heard Charlotte yell, "It's time for cake!" She smiled apologetically at Austin as she was ushered over to her dad, who was pushing a huge cake out on a cart. Once everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' to her, they told her to make a wish. Ally closed her eyes, and privately spoke silently in her mind the one thing she wanted the most. And then she opened her eyes and blew out the candles.

* * *

The party ended at midnight, with everyone singing Happy Birthday to Ally again, as she officially turned eighteen. Ally's dad had work in the morning, so he and Charlotte had left a little earlier, and now only Austin, Ally, Trish and Dez were left to tidy up.

Ally and Trish were busy taking down streamers, sweeping the floor and chucking paper plates and cups into bags, while Dez and Austin were upstairs in the practice room, in the process of moving the laptop and speakers back up there.

"You know this whole thing was Austin's idea?" Trish told her, knotting the handles of a plastic bag together. "He organized the whole thing. Well, Charlotte, Dez and I helped too, but it was mainly Austin."

Ally smiled a little and said nothing, shaking the plastic bag she was holding to make more room inside it.

"Ally, what I'm trying to get at is…when are you and Austin just going to admit that you love each other?" she asked exasperatedly.

Ally glanced at her in surprise. "Huh? You really think he loves me?"

"Duh," Trish rolled her eyes. "Do you love him, Ally?"

"Of course I do," she said. "We've been friends for years, Trish."

"Oh, Ally, you know what I mean!" she huffed impatiently. "Do you love him more than just a friend?"

"Trish, I'd really rather not talk about it," she muttered. These feelings for Austin had always been private; something she kept to herself. She was so afraid that he wouldn't feel the same way, and she wasn't sure she could handle losing her best friend again. Nearly kissing him today had been impulsive, and reckless. Just because he wrote her that song didn't mean he was in love with her. What would happen after graduation? If she got into Julliard, she would be leaving for New York, and then what would happen? Could they keep a relationship going long-distance? Hell, she couldn't even keep a friendship going long-distance because she missed him so much! Was loving him too risky?

"Ally!" Trish exclaimed in frustration. "Just admit it! You're in love with Austin!"

Ally threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "Fine! I am absolutely, completely and totally in love with Austin Moon! I love his smile, his eyes, his personality – everything! I love how he's always there for me, and I love that he always knows the right thing to say to me! Are you happy now?" she exhaled tearfully. Why the hell was she getting tearful?

"But I can't do anything about it anyway," she added quietly.

"Why not?" a familiar voice asked from behind her.

Ally whipped around in shock, and her eyes widened as she saw Austin standing at the bottom of the steps that led to the practice room. How had she not heard him come down?

"H-how long have you been standing there?" she asked timidly as Dez also hurried down behind Austin.

"Long enough," he said vaguely.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "You weren't supposed to hear that!" She turned to run away, but in three ground-eating strides he had crossed the room, gathered her up in his arms and kissed her deeply. Stunned, Ally kissed him back, feeling sparks fly and explode as they kissed. His hands gripped her waist gently, yet tightly, as if he never wanted to let her go. Ally wrapped her arms around his neck and twisted her fingers in his hair, enjoying the feel of his soft hair against her fingers. As she broke away for air, he moved a soft trail of kisses up her neck, and pushed her up against the wall, moving the kisses down to her collarbone. She closed her eyes at how good that felt, before impatiently crashing her lips back onto his again.

As they kissed, stroked and touched fervently, every boundary between them broke, and every line they'd carefully constructed around their friendship was crossed out. Destroyed. Nothing would ever be the same after this, and they knew it. They'd just entered a whole other much more complicated, but much more intoxicating, exciting world, and they'd taken their "friendship" to an entirely new level. And it was the best thing either of them had done.

Ally wrapped her legs around his waist, and he easily lifted her up so they were exactly face to face. The kisses became more urgent, and more passionate. Eventually, Austin knew they had to take a break, before things got even more heated.

"Brief pause," he gasped, gently setting her down on the counter. Sometime during that make out session, Dez and Trish had left; leaving Austin and Ally completely alone in the store. They stared at each other, grinning and breathing hard.

Ally leaned in closer, feeling bold and confident all of a sudden. "I do believe I said I loved you, Moon."

Austin smirked and brushed his lips lazily over hers. "Kiss me again, and maybe I'll say it back, Dawson."

Growling, Ally kissed him again, very briefly though. Austin smiled gently at her, and first placed a kiss on her forehead.

"If it isn't already obvious," he murmured, drifting his lips back to hers, where he planted the sweetest, softest kiss that literally melted her. "I love you too, Ally Dawson."

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "You wanna go back to mine? No one will be up."

Austin grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

**A/N: thank you for your reviews, follows and favourites! I really appreciate it, and please let me know what you think :) and a very Happy Christmas to all my lovely readers! :) xx**


	19. Prom Court & Phone Calls

Ally's eyes slowly fluttered open. She was lying in her bed, wearing only a pair of black and white polka dot pyjama shorts, and a black tank top. A huge smile spread across her face as she turned her head, and saw Austin. He was sleeping soundly, with his arms wrapped around her loosely. He looked so cute and peaceful when he was sleeping.

Ally exhaled happily as she thought back to last night. The pair of them had walked briskly back to her house, deciding that if her dad awoke the next morning and found Austin's car parked outside the house, it would provoke some awkward questions, so they decided just to walk. They'd snuck inside up to her room, and as soon as the door was shut and locked, they'd started kissing all over again. She touched her lips with a goofy smile, remembering how soft and good Austin's lips felt on hers. She didn't quite remember when she'd changed into her pyjamas, but she was pretty sure Austin had helped her undress.

Smiling, Ally just gazed at him. How, after all these years had she not realised that everything she'd ever wanted in a guy was sitting right next to her the whole time? He'd always been there, but she'd never had any romantic feelings for him until now. She wasn't sure what it was that changed. All she knew was that she'd never been happier to see him lying next to her.

"Als, quit staring at me," he mumbled in amusement, opening his eyes only slightly, before closing them.

"It's not staring, it's gazing," she corrected. "It's romantic."

"It's freaky," he teased, opening one eye. "Because I bet you haven't blinked yet."

Ally grabbed a cushion and whacked him in the face with it. "I have blinked."

"Ow," he groaned, opening both his eyes now and leaning closer to her. "That wasn't very nice." But a second later, he closed the gap between them with a kiss.

Ally smiled and brushed his hair back with her hand. He closed his eyes at her touch, and sighed in content, turning his head to kiss her wrist. Wordlessly, he pulled her into his arms so they were spooning, and she was nestled comfortably against him. She just lay there, and let him hold her, and she felt herself slowly drifting off to sleep.

But not before he touched her ear with his lips, and whispered, "I love you, Ally Dawson."

* * *

The rest of the weekend was literally bliss for Ally. She and Austin spent nearly every minute of the weekend together, whether they were writing songs at the store, watching movies, eating, hanging out at the mall or spending time at the beach with Trish and Dez.

Monday, when Austin and Ally walked into school holding hands, the halls literally exploded with gossip. All day Ally had desperate girls, and guys, coming up to her, demanding to know if the rumours were true. Every time she said 'yes', the girls would either squeal and congratulate her, or burst into tears. The guys looked a little disappointed, and Ally wasn't sure if that was because they wanted to date her, or if they wanted to date Austin.

At lunch while she stopped at her locker, Austin appeared behind Ally; sliding his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek.

"I've had twenty seven girls and eleven guys asking me if I'm dating you," he stated, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Thirty eight girls and twenty guys," Ally grinned, turning around and pecking his lips. "And not to mention, the staring. That's getting pretty annoying, actually."

"Yeah, but isn't it worth it?" he smirked, kissing her again.

She giggled against his lips. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Austin chuckled. "They'll get over it eventually, Als. You ready to get some lunch?"

"Sure," she smiled, and he closed her locker for her. They walked to the cafeteria, holding hands. Ally couldn't believe she'd missed out on this so much before. Holding his hand felt like the most natural thing in the world, and kissing him…her heart soared, fireworks exploded and sparks were flying, and she didn't care how cheesy and cliché it sounded. Austin was everything she wanted.

* * *

Later on, their last class of the day was interrupted when Principal Morrison spoke over the intercom.

"Attention, seniors," he said. "As you all know, prom is this Friday, and the doors open at seven. I think it's time we announced our prom court for this year."

A wave of excited chatter rippled over the class, and Ally and Austin exchanged a look. They were in English class, and Austin and Dez were sitting behind her and Trish.

"_Kill me now," _Ally mouthed, rolling her eyes.

Austin snorted quietly, and said nothing, as Principal Morrison continued.

"This year's nominees for prom king are...Dallas Centineo, Trent Ward, and Austin Moon!" he announced.

Ally smiled at Austin as the class burst into applause and cheered at the three possible prom kings.

"And this year's nominees for prom queen are…Cecilia Swan…Trish De La Rosa, and Ally Dawson!"

Ally and Trish stared at each other, stunned, as the class erupted into applause.

"We – we got nominated for _prom queen?" _Trish demanded excitedly.

"Looks like it," Ally muttered, turning to face Austin in surprise. He was grinning hugely.

"Still want me to kill you now?" he smirked, leaning closer.

"Please," she begged playfully.

"Congratulations to all of our nominees!" Principal Morrison said. "And make sure you all vote for your prom king and queen! Tickets for prom are now officially on sale, and can be bought at reception. Also, for anyone who wishes to join the prom committee at last minute needs to see Trish De La Rosa, your senior class president. Remember, it's never too late for extra credit! There will be a prom-committee meeting tonight, so please remember to attend. Okay, now you can get back to your classes."

* * *

The class was still chatting excitedly; discussing prom, the nominees, dresses, and the usual, when the class was dismissed at the end of the day.

"You are joining the prom committee, right?" Trish asked.

"Yeah," Ally smiled. "Of course I am."

"Dez?" Trish glanced at him. "Will you join the prom committee?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, okay."

"Austin?" Ally grinned.

"Sure," he rolled his eyes with a smile, wrapping his arm around her waist. "If it means I get to spend more time with you…"

Ally giggled, while Trish pretended to gag, however, she was grinning.

"I just can't believe we got nominated for prom queen," Ally said. "I never saw that one coming."

"Ally, you are probably the only girl I have ever met who isn't excited for prom," Trish stated. "And we're talking about the girl who is the world's biggest hopeless romantic."

Ally shrugged. "I _am _excited, I just…I dunno, prom queen?" she rolled her eyes. "It's all so superficial; a popularity contest. Eugh."

"Oh, come on, _please _be excited?" Trish begged. "Friday after school, we can get ready together – hey, can I come to your house? My family's nuts – my mom will bring out the camera and take so many pictures that my eyes will burn up, my brothers will laugh at me and my dad will start crying!"

"Of course you can, Trish," Ally smiled, as they entered the gym, where the prom would be held, and where the meeting would be held.

Austin's phone began to ring, and he glanced down at it, frowning. "Uh, I need to take this outside. Start the meeting without me – I'll catch up."

Before Ally could even ask who it was, Austin quickly kissed her cheek and strode briskly from the hall. Ally stared after him, confused at his behaviour.

"What was that about?" Trish wondered.

"I have no idea," Ally said quietly, shaking her head as her best friend shrugged, and called the meeting to order.

* * *

Austin sighed, leaning against the wall and hanging up the phone. That conversation did _not _go well. What was he going to _do? _He closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall; exhaling another sigh of frustration.

"Hey, man, you okay?"

Austin's eyes flew open, and he saw Dez walking toward him, confused.

"Not really," he huffed.

"We're going over possible themes for prom, and when I suggested dinosaurs, Trish kicked me out," Dez shrugged. "So who was that on the phone?"

Austin sighed. "It was my manager, and my dad."

"What happened?"

"They said I've been away too long!" he exclaimed. "And there's this concert I completely forgot about that I signed up for on Thursday evening in LA, and then a meet and greet Friday afternoon! My tour of California starts this Thursday, Dez, and I totally forgot."

"But Austin, the prom is on Friday," Dez reminded him patiently. "And direct flights from LA to Miami take five to six hours – you'd never make it in time!"

"I know," Austin groaned. "God, how could I be so stupid to forget? What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Austin, it's not your fault," Dez told him. "You've been distracted –"

"No, Dez, it _is _my fault!" he sighed. "I'm an idiot! My dad says I have to leave tonight – I'm severely behind on my rehearsals – it's Monday, and I have just under three days to rehearse!"

"So you're going?" Dez asked incredulously.

"I don't have a choice," he sighed. "If I don't go, my manager's threatening to drop me from the record label!"

"They can't do that!" Dez snapped indignantly.

"They can do anything they want, Dez," Austin sighed. "They said I've been away too long, and it's not good for the publicity, and all that crap."

"Austin, do you want to go?" Dez asked.

"I – I don't – yeah – no," he ran a hand through his hair agitatedly. "No, I don't, but I also don't want my career to end."

"What are you gonna tell Ally?" he asked.

"Oh no," Austin groaned. "I – I don't know. She'll never forgive me. I'm gonna miss everything – prom, her dad's wedding, graduation," he sighed. "I can't believe everything's going so wrong."

Dez was quiet for a moment, before he spoke up sadly. "I was going to ask Trish to prom."

Austin's head snapped up. "Dude, I don't expect you to go with me. And that's awesome – take her. I have to find a way to tell Ally tonight – she's gonna be crushed. God, what am I saying? I can't do that to her! I can't ruin her senior year! But I don't want my career to end either!"

"Austin!" Dez snapped. "Calm down. Just go home, and think it through. You're gonna have to make a decision by tonight, but for now, just _think about it."_

Austin nodded. "You're right. Can you tell Ally I went home sick?"

"Yeah," Dez sighed, and watched as his best friend walked away, with his shoulders slumped and his head hung low. What the hell was he going to do now?

* * *

**A/N: thank you for the reviews and support, as usual please let me know what you think, and I'll try to update as soon as I can :)**


	20. Acceptance & Love

After the prom committee meeting, Ally accepted a ride home from Trish, so she could pick up some movies and pancakes for Austin, who had gone home sick. Dez also accompanied them, and when they pulled over outside her house, he and Trish waited in the car.

"Ally?" her dad and Charlotte met her in the hallway; their expressions nervous. In her dad's hand was a white envelope with her full name and address on the front. Her jaw dropped, her legs turned to jelly and her stomach churned apprehensively.

"T-that's from Julliard," Ally managed to choke out.

"I know, darling," her dad said gently, offering her the letter.

"I – I," she stammered, accepting the envelope with shaking hands. "Whatever is inside this envelope is gonna make or break my future," she whispered.

"That's not true, Ally," Charlotte said softly. "You've been accepted to every other school you applied for."

"But this is Julliard," she stammered. "This is my dream school – I can't look, dad, you open it."

"No, Ally," he said gently. "You have to open it. It's _your _letter."

With trembling hands, she ripped open the envelope. She'd never been more nervous about something in her entire life. She was more scared in this moment than she ever had been on stage. She began to read through the letter, skipping right to the part that would change everything for her.

_Dear Allyson,_

_We are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted –_

"Well?" her dad asked. "What does it say?"

Ally raised her tear-filled eyes to meet his, and a huge smile broke out across her face.

"I got in!" she giggled.

They both yelled out in happiness and hugged her tightly. Laughing, Ally hugged them back, and then broke away, practically crying with happiness and relief.

"I have to tell the others," she stated.

"Invite them all over," Dad grinned. "We'll have a barbeque to celebrate."

Ally smiled. "Okay. I'll be back soon." She hurried out of the house, forgetting about the pancakes and movies. Still clutching the letter in her hand, she ran to the car.

"Ally? What's going -?" Trish began, but Ally cut her off.

"I got accepted to Julliard!" she replied ecstatically.

"Oh my God!" Trish screamed, jumping out of the car and hugging Ally tightly. "I knew you would! Congratulations, Ally!"

Dez also joined the hug. "Ally, that's amazing!" he told her.

Ally beamed at them. "Thank you – I have to tell Austin! Trish? Can you drive me?"

"Of course," she nodded, and all three of them hurriedly jumped back in the car. Ally smiled to herself widely as they drove. Everything was just falling into place now, and she'd never been happier.

* * *

Austin angrily hurled the basketball at the net. It flew through with a satisfying _swoosh, _and bounced back onto the pavement. He began to dribble the ball, staring at it as it whacked the floor each time. _Do I go? Do I stay? Do I go? Do I stay?_

This was the toughest decision he'd ever had to make. He hadn't even told his mom yet – the only person he wanted to talk to was Ally. He didn't want to lie to her – that was the last thing he wanted to do, and if he was going to leave, then he wasn't going to do it secretly this time.

Sighing, he dropped the ball and flopped down onto the grass, closing his eyes and draping his arm tiredly across his face. The worst part was that he'd promised Ally he'd be there to watch her graduate, but if he went on this tour, then he would be sure to miss it. But then if he _didn't _go on the tour, then his record label would drop him, and his career would end. It was totally unfair, but Austin was completely powerless here. There was nothing he could do.

Austin wasn't sure how long he just lay there silently for, when he felt something tickling his arm. Confused, he dropped his arm from his face and opened his eyes to see Ally, dragging a piece of grass across his other arm.

"Hey," he smiled, sitting up.

"Hey," she giggled. "Did you fall asleep? I thought you were sick – why are you out here?"

"Just needed some air," he said truthfully, leaning forward and kissing her. "You okay?"

"I'm great, actually," Ally grinned, getting to her feet and holding up a letter. Austin got to his feet too and took the letter. He began to read through it, and he grinned as soon as he saw the word 'accepted'.

"Ally, that's incredible," he said, pulling her into a tight hug. She smiled and relaxed against him, wrapping her arms around his middle. He kissed her hair, holding her close. "I'm so proud of you," he whispered.

"Thanks, Austin," she said softly, breaking away and smiling up at him. "I know this means that I'm moving to New York, and I know the whole long distance thing doesn't always work, but…I'm willing to try, Austin. I love you, and I don't want to lose that."

Austin kissed her forehead. "You won't lose that, Ally. I love you too, and I swear, we'll make this work somehow."

"Now and forever?" she grinned.

"Now and forever," he smiled.

She hugged him tightly, and he rested his head against hers. _We'll make this work somehow. _He wished he could believe himself so easily like she did.

"Come on," Ally giggled, pulling back and grabbing his hand. "My dad's throwing a celebratory barbeque – you wanna come?"

"Of course," he forced a smile. "Let's go."

The pair of them walked out to the car, where Trish and Dez were waiting. Dez caught Austin's eye, and by the happy, delighted demeanour about Ally, he knew that Austin hadn't said anything yet. Austin bit back a sigh as he got in the back next to Dez.

"Later," he muttered. He watched as Ally chatted away happily with Trish. She'd never looked so happy before. _I can't ruin this for her right now, _he sighed. _But if I'm going, then I'm going tonight, so really, I don't have a freaking choice._

* * *

The barbeque was pretty fun, but nothing could distract Austin from his thoughts. All he could think about was the suitcase he'd packed and left on his bed, just in case he did go. The words of his dad, and his manager rang through his mind, and as much as he tried to distract himself, nothing seemed to work.

Ally could tell something was wrong with Austin, and he knew that she knew something was up. Every now and again he caught her watching him worriedly, but she was playing it off in front of the others too; acting like everything was okay. Both of them knew that it wasn't okay – something was wrong.

Eventually, at around eleven o'clock, Dez and Trish left, so Austin and Ally meandered outside onto the front porch. If Austin did go to the airport, his flight was leaving at two AM, which would get him to LA by around seven or eight Tuesday morning. He knew he had to tell her now. There was no delaying the truth – he might as well just come right out and say it.

"Austin, what's going on?" Ally asked quietly.

He sighed, and began to tell her everything. He told her about his tour starting, how he forgot, what he would miss, and what would happen if he didn't go. Ally listened carefully; her concerned expression remaining constant until he finished talking.

"Ally, I want to be honest with you," he told her. "Always. I don't want to leave you, but I also don't want my career to end. I'm so torn, but the idea of leaving you, and letting you down is killing me. I don't want to go, not without you. I can't leave you."

"Austin," she said quietly. "You have to go to LA."

"What?" his eyes widened in shock.

"You remember the morning after we got together?" she asked gently. "I was so happy – we both were. I was thinking…I couldn't believe everything I'd ever wanted in a guy had been sitting right next to me on the piano stool the whole time and I hadn't noticed, and that's because we were strictly friend-zoned! I'd never felt like this for you before, and I was trying to figure out what had changed."

As she spoke, tears filled her eyes, but she continued on, not letting her voice crack.

"And now I know," she raised a small, teary smile. "I realised that you loved me so much that you were willing to leave, despite the risk it could have on our friendship, and how much it would hurt the both of us. You loved me so much that you refused to let me give up on my dreams, Austin. And how could I ignore someone who obviously loved and cared for me that much?"

Tears had filled his eyes too now. He knew he was going to leave – they both knew it. And they weren't sure when they were going to see each other again.

"I can't let your career end," Ally said, as a tear fell down her cheek. "I _won't _let it end, and you can't stay and watch your dreams crumble down because of me. You _know _you have to go to LA."

Austin stared at her sadly. "I don't know when I'll see you again, Ally," he said hoarsely.

"We both knew this was going to be hard," she whispered, closing her eyes as more tears rolled down her face. "You're Austin Moon…best-selling, international star, heading off for your third tour. And I'm Ally; a music major off to study at Julliard. We're worlds apart, Austin…and I _want _this to work, I really do, but –

"Don't do it," he cut her off raggedly. "Ally, don't. Don't end it before it's even had a chance to begin."

"I have to," she whispered, fighting through the huge lump in her throat. "W-we have to go our separate ways, Austin."

Austin shook his head, tears falling down his cheeks. "You said you didn't want to lose this. We said now and forever."

"You know I'll always love you, Austin!" Ally cried. "Now, and forever! And if letting you go is the only way I don't have to lose you, then I'll do it! Because if you stay, and your career ends, you know we'll both regret it every day. And _that _is what will break us, Austin, that is how we'll lose this. I still want to be with you, but right now, it's just not going to work, and you know that, don't you?"

Austin nodded slowly, letting tears drip down his nose. "Yeah," he managed to choke out.

"So for now," she breathed out tearfully. "I'll just say that I love you, and I'll see you when I see you?"

"I love you," Austin repeated, taking a step closer to her, so they were almost touching. "And I'll see you when I see you."

He sealed the gap between them with a deep, urgent kiss. Ally kissed him back; tasting his tears on his lips, and running her hands through his hair one last time. Too soon, the kiss was broken, and Austin and Ally stared at each other, both crying. But it was the right thing to do.

Shooting her one last small smile, Austin turned around slowly, and began to walk away, leaving Ally feeling more alone than she ever had before in her life.

* * *

A/N: I cried writing this! Thank you so much for getting me to 101 reviews! I love you all, and please let me know what you think! xx


	21. Fire & Ice - Part 1

**A/N: thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! I originally wrote this chapter in one big go, but then decided it was WAY too long, so I've split it in two parts, and I'll be uploading them both now. Okay, now you may read the chapter :D**

* * *

The week at school just seemed to crawl by for Ally. She spent every moment at school with Trish and Dez, who tried desperately hard to make this easier, and less painful for her, by talking about anything but Austin. As much as she appreciated their efforts, none of it worked. Austin plagued her mind every minute of every day. She missed his voice, his touch, his laugh…everything.

However, this wasn't as hard as it was before. Austin refused to let Ally go, so he called her persistently every day. She didn't have the strength or the willpower to ignore him, and talking to him became the best and brightest part of her day. They talked normally; never about how much they missed each other, never about their feelings. They just talked.

Ally knew it wasn't a good thing that talking to him was the brightest part of her day. What was she going to do when she left for Julliard? Would she mope around all day until Austin called and made everything better? She couldn't go on living like this, but part of her just didn't care. She would never stop loving Austin, so why was it so wrong that talking to him brightened her world?

The theme of the prom was Fire and Ice; a different, unique theme that had never been done before at their school. The girls and guys had to coordinate with their dates and decide who would wear red, and who would wear white. But after several complaints from guys about renting white tuxes, the rule had been altered slightly so that as long as they wore a white shirt, they could wear whatever blazer and trousers they liked.

So on Thursday, Trish and Ally had gone dress-shopping, which may have seemed pretty risky because most of the good dresses would've been cleaned out, however, Trish's mom was a fashion-designer, and had put aside ten or twelve beautiful red dresses for Ally and Trish to try on.

The pair of them were now sitting in Trish's mom's huge closet, staring down at the gorgeous red dresses in front of them.

"They're all so beautiful," Trish whined. "I have no idea which one I want."

Ally flashed a small smile, not really listening. She was staring at the pools of red material, not sure which one she wanted to wear either. All she could think about was the fact that Austin wouldn't show up at her door wearing a tux and carrying a corsage for her. She'd be going to prom alone.

She'd had at least ten guys asking her to prom, and she'd declined every one of them. The only person she wanted to go to prom with was Austin, but he was probably rehearsing for his concert right about now, and that was okay.

_I can't complain, _she told herself sternly. _I'm the one who let him go, for God's sake! This was the right thing to do. There'll be plenty of parties that Austin and I can go to together in the future. I'll be with my friends at prom – I'm gonna be fine._

"Ally? Did you hear me?" Trish asked, waving a hand in front of her face.

Ally snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh?"

Trish sighed. "Are you okay, Ally?"

"Yeah," she forced a smile. "Of course I am."

"Really?" she asked sceptically.

"Really," Ally nodded.

"You know, just because I'm going with Dez doesn't mean I'm going to leave you alone," Trish told her firmly. "And just because Austin's not going to be there doesn't mean you're not going to have an amazing time."

Yeah, Dez had asked Trish to the prom. It was something Ally never saw coming; in fact, it was something none of them saw coming. Trish had been stunned, pleased and shocked all at once; and the only two words she'd been able to choke out had been 'yeah, okay'. Ally was so happy for them, even if it was a little weird. As long as they were happy.

"Thanks, Trish," Ally smiled and hugged her friend tightly. "I'm going to miss you when I go to Julliard and you go to Yale."

Trish's eyes filled with tears. "I'm going to miss you too, Ally. Promise me we'll always stay in touch! Every weekend!"

"Of course," Ally promised, also feeling tears fill her eyes. "I'll call you every day, Trish. You and I are always going to be best friends, no matter what."

Trish wiped her eyes and pulled away to look at Ally. "I can't believe Team Austin is really ending. We're all going our own ways, aren't we?"

"It's not the end," Ally assured her. "Friendships like this don't just get forgotten about. We're going to be friends forever, okay? You can count on it."

Trish giggled. "Look at us – getting all weepy now, and we haven't even graduated yet! Let's just pick our dresses for prom first, before we even think about graduation."

Ally smiled. "Okay. I really like this one for you," she remarked, pointing at one of them.

"Ooh, yeah, that is pretty," Trish smiled. "What about this one for you?"

And so the pair of them sat there in the closet for ages, trying on each dress, styling each other's hair in different styles for each dress, giggling, chatting and just being Ally and Trish. The time flew by, and eventually, Ally hugged Trish goodbye with her dress all zipped up, and left to head home.

* * *

The next day at school, Ally was by her locker sorting her books out for next lesson, when Trent came up to her with a smile.

"Hey Ally, how are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm fine, thanks," she smiled. "How are you, Trent?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he leaned against the locker next to hers, and sighed. "Prom's tonight."

Ally chuckled grimly. "I know. How's your campaign for prom king going?"

"I haven't been campaigning," he laughed. "Cecilia keeps trying to get me to campaign with her. I think she wants me to take her to prom," he said, looking troubled.

Ally smiled sympathetically. "Go with whoever you _want _to go with, Trent. Don't let her influence your decision."

"I don't want to go with her," he sighed. "I can't forgive her after what she did. Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go with me," he suggested. "You know, as friends, of course, seeing as neither of us can go with the person we hoped to go with in the first place."

As he'd been talking, Ally had noticed one of the girls, Jenna, from the play staring longingly at Trent. She'd always liked Jenna – she was a nice, quite eccentric girl who had played the role of Frenchy. And clearly, Jenna liked Trent.

"Trent," Ally smiled. "I – I would love to go to prom with you, but I think you should ask Jenna. I know she wants to go with you more."

Trent turned and looked around to see Jenna. She smiled shyly at him and waved tentatively. He grinned back, and then glanced at Ally.

"Yeah," he nodded with a smile. "I think I will. Are you sure you're gonna be okay, though?"

"Oh, of course," Ally nodded. "Well, you'd better go ask her before someone else does," she added jokingly.

Trent grinned. "Thanks, Ally. You're a good friend. Wish me luck!" And with that, he hurried over to Jenna and offered to carry her books. Ally smiled as she watched them walk away.

"Hey there, Dawson," Dallas appeared next to her, slamming her locker shut.

"What do you want, Dallas?" she snapped.

"Heard your precious boyfriend skipped town," he shrugged. "And I'm still free. Want to go to prom with me?"

"No," she laughed. "Are you crazy? Why would I want to go to prom with an asshole like you?"

"Funny," he snapped darkly, taking a step toward her. "You used to be into me, Ally, remember that?"

"Yeah, and then you cheated on me," she fired back. "The answer's no, Dallas. You're even more pathetic than I gave you credit for."

She turned and stalked off, suppressing the urge to start laughing hysterically. Dallas Centineo was officially the biggest idiot she had ever met.

* * *

Austin forced another smile, as he put his arm around another fan, smiled for another picture, signed another hat, another CD, another piece of paper…and then ended with a 'nice to meet you (insert name of fan here)'.

This should be fun. He should be enjoying meeting all of his fans, hearing their praise, signing their CDs…but he wasn't enjoying a single moment of it. All he could think about was the fact that Ally's prom started in five hours, and he wasn't going to be there to take her.

The meet and greet finished in ten minutes, and then he would have to start preparing for tonight's concert. Last night's concert had been exhilarating, yeah, but it wasn't the same. All he could think about was Ally. He was completely off his game, and everyone knew it.

At this point, Austin didn't care about all the fans that were screaming his name, and queuing just to get a couple of minutes with him. None of that mattered without Ally around.

"Excuse me? Austin?"

He snapped out of his chain of thought to see a young girl waving a hand timidly in front of his face and holding out a CD for him to sign.

"Sorry," he smiled. "I just spaced out. What's your name?"

"Alex Hudson," she smiled shyly. "But my friends call me Ally."

Austin's heart picked up, and he smiled a little. "It's nice to meet you, Ally."

"Can you sign this for me, please?" she handed him the CD.

"Of course," he said, scribbling his signature.

"Austin?" she asked curiously. "Why are you so sad?"

Her big, blue eyes were inquisitive, and her auburn curls bounced to the side as she cocked her head curiously, waiting for his reply.

"I – I'm not sad," he lied with a laugh.

"You are sad," she decided. "Your smile's not reaching your eyes."

"What?" Austin asked, amused.

"Well, when we smile normally, it reaches our eyes," she explained. "But your eyes are sad. And our eyes tell us all we need to know about a person. So I think you're sad."

"How old did you say you were again?" Austin asked.

"I didn't, but I'm going to be eight in a week," she informed him. "So? Why are you sad?"

Austin sighed. "I'm sad because I'm in love, Ally. I'm in love with a girl that I can't be with."

"Well, why can't you be with her?" she asked, confused.

"Because…it's complicated. We're worlds apart, and it's too complicated," he sighed.

"Well, I don't see what's so complicated about it," she shrugged. "You love her, and she loves you, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "But –

"But nothing," she interrupted. "Nothing else should matter, apart from her."

Austin stared at her, surprised. "You are the smartest seven-nearly-eight-year-old I have ever met. Where did you learn advice like that?"

She shrugged. "We have cable."

"Thank you, Ally," he smiled. "I know what I have to do now."

He jumped out of his chair without even yelling a goodbye to the rest of his fans. He was just lucky that the smartest little girl he'd ever met, Alex Hudson, had been the last fan he spoke to.

"Austin? Where are you going?" his dad asked. "Wait until the bodyguards have cleared the entrance a little before we leave."

"No, I have to go _now," _he said. "I'm going to Miami tonight."

His manager, Dexter, appeared behind his dad, and his eyes practically popped out of their sockets. Unfortunately, his manager also happened to be the guy who was in charge of his record deal.

"_You're doing WHAT?" _he demanded.

"I have somewhere I need to be," Austin grinned. "Don't worry, I'll pay for refunds for tonight, and I'll do a free show the night after for everyone. But tonight I have somewhere I need to be."

"_A free show?" _Dexter repeated furiously. "Refunds? I don't think so, Mr Moon! You will stay and do the tour as planned!"

"No," Austin shot back. "No, I won't."

"Why not?" Dexter barked.

"I made a massive mistake leaving," he stated. "None of this matters to me unless Ally's a part of it."

"Ally," he scoffed. "You're giving this all up for some girl whose name you won't even remember in a few years?!"

"No, I'm giving this all up because I love her," Austin rolled his eyes, as if it was simple. Because it really was that simple.

"I will drop you from the record label!" Dexter threatened. "And don't think that I won't!"

"Oh, I wouldn't doubt you, sir," Austin smirked. "Which is why I quit anyway. There are other record labels out there, Dex, and I'm tired of you ruling my life. Music should be something fun; something I do with my friends. And if I have to do this your way, then I don't want any part of it."

Dexter looked furiously, and helplessly over at Austin's dad. "Mike? Back me up here! Talk to your son!"

Mike grinned at Austin. "I've never been more proud of you in my life, buddy," he said, hugging him. "We'll get Will to take you to the private jet – you should make it in time."

"_What are you doing?" _Dex roared furiously.

Austin grinned. "I'm quitting. Later, Dex." And with that, he and his dad began to run past the screaming fans down to the car. The bodyguards helped them through, until eventually, Austin dived in the backseat and grinned at his driver, Will.

"I need to get to the private jet," he told him quickly. "It's kind of an emergency – I'm gonna be late for prom," he laughed.

Will also laughed. "You got it, Mr Moon."

He stepped on the pedal hurriedly, and then they were off.

"How long until it starts?" Mike asked.

Austin looked at his watch. It had just gone two o'clock, and the prom started at seven.

"Five hours," he sighed. "I just hope that's enough."

* * *

Ally stared at herself nervously in the mirror; flattening her skirt, checking her makeup, and messing with her perfectly curled locks of hair. Her eyes roamed the dress she was wearing. It really was beautiful. It was a strapless red dip-hem dress, made from red gauzy material, with a jewelled embellished waistline and an elegant skirt. On her feet were the red heels she would be wearing at her dad's and Charlotte's wedding next weekend.

"Ally, you look gorgeous," Trish told her, entering Ally's room and smiling.

"Thanks. You look beautiful," Ally smiled, turning away from the mirror. Trish's dress was absolutely stunning. It was a gauzy red dress with sequins across the bodice and straps, with a crossover back. Her black curls were left loose, and she'd paired the dress with gorgeous red wedges on her feet.

"Dez is gonna be speechless," Ally giggled.

"That makes a change," she retorted, although she was blushing.

"Trish, about this whole prom queen thing," Ally began hesitantly. "Do you want to win?"

"No," Trish scoffed. "Like you said, it's superficial. I've had the best senior year anyway, and I don't think some stupid crown's gonna make it better."

Ally grinned at her. "And that is why you're my best friend, Trish De La Rosa."

Trish giggled. "Let's just go have some fun, okay?"

"Okay. We should go now," Ally stated, grabbing her purse. "The dance starts in ten minutes, and seeing as we spent a whole hour and a half decorating the hall for tonight, we should spend as much time as possible enjoying it."

"I know, right?" she laughed. "Let's go."

* * *

**Just in case anyone was wondering, here are the links for the dresses Ally and Trish are wearing:**

**Ally - **** shop/womens/dresses/ax-paris-red-embellished-waist-dip-hem-strapless-dress_273787560**

**Trish - webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=1&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33057&storeId=12556&productId=8515960&langId=-1&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=208523&parent_categoryId=203984&pageSize=200&refinements=Colour{1}~[red]^category~[209723|208523]&noOfRefinements=2**


	22. Fire & Ice - Part 2

**Here's Part 2! Enjoy :) oh, and btw, if you're looking for a song to listen to during this chapter (especially toward the middle-endish bit), I would recommend 'Still Got Tonight' by Matthew Morrison. Okay, now you can read it :D**

* * *

Dez turned up to Ally's house on time, looking great in the white tuxedo that had once belonged to his uncle (the whole white tux thing hadn't bothered him).

"Well, you both look gorgeous," he said, but he couldn't seem to take his eyes off Trish. Ally hung back to talk to her dad so she could give Trish and Dez some alone time.

"You look beautiful, baby girl," Dad said, his eyes tearing up.

"Dad," Ally chuckled. "Are you gonna start crying?"

"Of course not," he shook his head, blinking furiously. "Men don't cry."

"Yeah, they do," she giggled, hugging him.

"You gonna be alright getting home? Or do you need me to pick you up?" he asked, as they broke away.

"Nah, Dez is dropping me back," she smiled.

"Ally, come on, we're gonna be late," Trish called from the car.

Ally kissed her dad's cheek. "See you later, Dad."

"Bye, darling," he smiled, waving as she hurried off to the car and got in the back. She waved back as Dez pulled out of the street, and drove in the direction of the school.

* * *

There were only two words good enough to describe the hall, and even they seemed inadequate – _freakin' amazing. _As they entered the hall, there was a large, white arch above them lit with beautiful twinkling crystal lights. All of the tables were clothed in red or white velvet, with red or white candles and roses in the centre. The whole hall was decked with red and white sparkling lights and decorations, and the huge disco ball in the centre was spinning. The DJ stand was lit with red and white lights, and music was blasting through the speakers. Students dressed in red and white were flocking the dance floor; dancing, laughing and chatting.

"Oh my God," Ally stared around in shock. "This is so beautiful!"

Trish grinned. "I know! Let's get some punch!"

The three of them made their way over to the drinks table. On the way, they were greeted by literally everyone; congratulating them on how brilliant the hall looked, and wishing them luck for the title of prom queen – not that the pair of them actually cared who won.

* * *

Austin stared nervously out the plane window as they landed in Miami; tapping his foot impatiently and drumming his fingers against the armrest. It was now half past seven, which meant he was already running late! He was all dressed in his tux – he didn't know what the theme was, but he was clinging to the fact that you couldn't really go wrong with a classic white shirt and black tie.

After thanking the pilot heartily and leaving a generous tip, Austin jumped off the plane. Once he'd had his passport and all that crap checked, he ran out to the parking lot. Huh. He hadn't thought this through. How was he meant to get to school? He looked around desperately, as if a car for him would appear magically out of the blue.

"Taxi!" he yelled, as the familiar yellow car pulled over on the road. He ran toward it, and jumped inside, thanking his lucky stars silently.

"Where to, sir?" the driver asked.

"McReyan High," he said hurriedly. "And as fast as you can, please."

The driver nodded, and pulled away from the airport. Austin leaned against the seat, exhaling in relief. He glanced down at his watch. 7:50. Better late than never.

They were making pretty good time, as well. It was about a half hour drive from here to the school, and things were going so well until –

"Why are we stopping?" Austin asked impatiently.

"We're in traffic," the driver said apologetically.

"Do you know how long this is going to take?" he pressed.

He sighed. "By the looks of it we could be here for a while."

"I don't have a while," Austin said frantically, glancing at his watch. 8:15. The sooner he got there, the better. He didn't want Ally to think he'd abandoned her – he couldn't wait.

He glanced down at his shoes. Yeah, he'd forgotten about his nice leather black shoes, and instead he was wearing the usual black pair of Converse he always wore. But now he was grateful that he'd worn them, because they were a hell of a lot easier to run in than smart shoes.

"I gotta go," Austin said, chucking twenty dollars at the driver. "Keep the change." He opened the door, ready to get out.

"It's going to rain!" the driver reminded him. "You'll ruin your tux."

Austin glanced up at the sky. Sure enough, it was dark with angry rain clouds. Too bad.

"I don't care," he shrugged. "I can't wait. See ya, man." With that, he jumped out and let the door fall shut with a slam behind him. The first crash of thunder rumbled ahead as he broke into a run.

* * *

"Attention, seniors!"

The music quietened as Principal Morrison stood on the stage with the microphone, and the two crowns sitting on cushions by him on a freaking pedestal. Yes, a pedestal.

"It's time to announce this year's Fire and Ice Prom King and Queen!" he said. "I would like to call to the stage this year's prom court. Could our princes please come to the stage? That's Dallas Centineo, Trent Ward and Austin Moon!"

A large round of applause erupted after this, followed by confused muttering about the whereabouts of Austin. Ally could feel her heart slamming furiously against her chest, and her insides were tied in uncomfortable knots. She wished more than anything that she'd dropped out of this stupid prom court before now. The last thing she wanted to do right now was go up on stage.

"And now for our Fire and Ice princesses; Cecilia Swan, Trish De La Rosa and Ally Dawson!"

It was only the hand Trish held on her that kept Ally moving. The sound of the applause just seemed to fade into background noise as the spotlight met Ally's gaze, and squinting, she looked away, trying to find a friendly face in the crowd. Thankfully, she found Dez, who was smiling at them both encouragingly.

"This year's Fire and Ice Prom King is…Trent Ward!" Principal Morrison announced.

Ally seemed to break from her trance long enough to applaud Trent. She was so relieved that it wasn't Dallas, and also relieved that it wasn't Austin. She wasn't sure whether she could handle every student in here chanting his name.

The students applauded Trent as he was crowned king, and then it was time to announce the prom queen.

"This year's Fire and Ice Prom Queen is…Ally Dawson!" he called into the microphone.

Ally's eyes widened in shock as the hall erupted into applause and cheering. She was vaguely aware that she was being pushed forward to the principal, who placed the crown on her head. Trent grinned, and offered her his arm.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your Fire and Ice Prom King and Queen 2014!" Principal Morrison shouted.

Ally took Trent's arm and copied him as he bowed; feeling her legs tremble like jelly. Once a picture was snapped of them, the music was turned up again, and she was allowed to leave the stage.

"Ally, you're prom queen!" Trish hugged her delightedly.

She forced a smile in return. "I – I need some air," she stated. As she tried to push through the crowd, people kept coming up to her, congratulating her, gushing over her dress and crown, asking questions about Austin, asking for _pictures with her_…it was all to freaking much.

The music was too loud.

The crowd pressed too close.

Her heart was beating way too fast.

In the end, Ally ran out of the hall, not caring who she hit or collided with. She just continued to run, down the deserted halls in search of the nearest exit. As she ran, she yanked the stupid crown off her head and held it loosely in her hands.

The nearest exit happened to be the school entrance. She pushed the doors open fiercely, and stumbled outside. It was pouring down with rain. The sky was obscured with angry grey clouds, and thunder rumbled threateningly overhead. Thankfully, she was sheltered under the entrance to the school. Releasing a small, dry sob, Ally slumped against the wall and sank to the floor; letting the crown drop from her hand as her eyes closed. Warm tears leaked from her eyes and fell down her cheeks. It was official. She was a total mess without Austin.

Through her tear-clouded vision, Ally opened her eyes and stared out across the front grounds of the school. That was when she saw a figure running toward her in the distance. She couldn't be sure because of the veil of tears blurring her vision, and the thick downpour of rain warping reality, but she could've sworn she saw a flash of messy, blonde hair.

* * *

The rain soaked Austin through as he ran, but he didn't care. He'd been lucky – the rain had managed to hold off for most of the way, but as he'd neared the school, it had begun to fall. And not gently, either. It was _hammering _it down.

Light and relief flooded his heart as he saw the familiar building of the school, and he continued to run. His heart was pounding frantically against his chest, the blood was roaring in his ears and he was pretty sure his lungs were on fire, but he didn't seem to care. He just kept going.

Eventually, Austin found that he was running up the front grounds of the school. He was so close to seeing Ally again, yet so far away. And then his eyes widened when he saw the brunette sitting there against the wall; a pool of red material surrounding her. He came to a halt about three or four metres away from her.

Ally had been staring at him the whole time, frozen in shock. The pair of them just stayed there, staring at each other. And then as if someone had slapped some life back into her, Ally jumped to her feet and ran toward him; not seeming to care about the rain, or the fact that she was ruining her dress.

"_What the hell are you doing here?" _she yelled over the rain through her tears, as she drew to a stop only about a foot away from him.

"I couldn't do it," Austin said raggedly, still trying to catch his breath. "I couldn't stand to be apart from you, Ally."

"You're crazy!" Ally sobbed. "Your career – it's over! Why would you give it all up to be here?"

Austin stepped forward, cupping her face in his hands and wiping away her tears. "Because I love you," he told her firmly. "It's that simple, and nothing else should matter; we don't have to make it so complicated. And if I have to choose between my career and you, then it's going to be you. Hell, if I have to choose between anything and you, I'll always pick you, Ally."

She flung her arms around his neck with a sob and kissed him; feeling relieved, stunned, touched and elated all at once to see him. He held her tightly, wrapping his arms around her body and kissing her back deeply, sighing in happiness.

"I still think you're crazy," she whispered with a smile, running her fingers through his wet hair.

"Crazy for you," he smirked, kissing her again.

This was where he belonged. And this was where she belonged. No matter what, they had to be together. Any other way just wouldn't work.

* * *

**A/N: again, thank you so much for the follows, favourites and reviews, I appreciate it so much! Please let me know what you think of these chapters - it's nearly 2:30 in the morning over here, but I was too excited to wait :') I'll have a final chapter hopefully posted tomorrow, or maybe the day after, I'm not entirely sure, but it'll be ASAP :)**


	23. Now & Forever

Things really did start falling into place after that. Austin and Ally spent every moment possible together, and with Trish, Dez and their families. The wedding was beautiful, and for two weeks in summer break, Ally's dad took Charlotte to Australia, and while they were gone, Ally stayed with Austin.

Graduation flew by, and after the ceremony Trish threw a party that literally went on all night. By the end of the night, Trish and Dez were officially together, and Austin and Ally couldn't have been happier for them.

Ally did go to Juilliard in the end, but Austin went with her. They got an apartment together in New York, and when Ally wasn't in school, the pair of them would sit together in their apartment and write new music, which Austin would post on his official website. Eventually, after about a month, he got signed to Star Records, where he was allowed to make his own decisions, he was allowed to record the songs Ally wrote for him, and he was allowed to choose when he wanted to go on tour, which they worked around together; making compromises, and swearing that whatever happened, they would never leave each other. And they got through it.

Trish went to Yale, of course, and after taking a couple of different courses, she eventually decided that actually she wanted to go into law. Dez got a place at the New York Film Academy, which was great because he was nearby to Austin and Ally, and he could get the train to see Trish whenever he wanted. Every holiday, Team Austin met in Miami, where they spent all their time together and with their families – it was something they never put off, and they did it every holiday.

After Ally graduated from Juilliard, she took a year out and toured Europe, North America and South America with Austin, and once his tour was finished, they also visited Australia, New Zealand, and all the places they wanted to go. They settled back in Miami afterward, and Ally became a professional songwriter and musician for other artists as well as Austin. Alongside this, the pair of them devoted lots of their time to charity work, with Trish and Dez.

Austin and Ally married when they were both twenty five, and they went to Fiji for their honeymoon, which was beautiful. They moved into a huge, gorgeous house in Miami, which took at least two months to re-decorate and make it their own.

"Hey, babe, do you remember this?" Ally giggled.

Austin glanced up. He'd been busy hanging a photo of him, Ally, Trish and Dez in their front room, where the couches still had plastic covers on them to protect them from paint. Boxes and paint pots scattered the room, and Ally was sitting amongst them unpacking their photos.

"What?" he asked, coming over and wrapping his arms around her. "Oh," he laughed, resting his chin on her shoulder. "It's our prom picture."

In this picture, the pair of them were soaking wet from the rain, but they still looked absolutely elated. Austin's arms were wrapped around her waist and she was leaning against him; both of them laughing at the camera.

"That's my favourite picture of us," she decided.

"Mine too," he grinned, and she turned in his arms and caught his lips with hers.

Eventually, after an exhausting two months, the house was done, and they invited Trish and Dez over to celebrate. Trish and Dez had some exciting news: they were getting married!

Their wedding was stunning. Ally was the maid of honour, and Austin was the best man, and they were sure to make it the best, happiest possible experience for their best friends. They honeymooned in the south of France for two weeks, and Austin and Ally were subjected to helping them decorate their house as soon as they returned, which had been really fun.

* * *

Ally smiled as she reflected back on the past years, staring around the large living room at the people she loved the most.

Her thirteen year-old daughter, Olivia, was sitting quietly by the Christmas tree writing in her new journal, while her eleven year-old daughter, Imogen was busy on her new iPad with Trish's youngest daughter, Sophia. Ally guessed they were playing a dress-up game online, or something. Trish and Ally were sitting on the sofa, watching TV with glasses of wine in their hands and a box of chocolates between them. Their friendship hadn't changed over the years, put it that way. Trish's son, Declan, was sitting with Dez, who was showing his son the functions on his brand new camera.

Ally's gaze shifted to Austin, who was sitting at the piano with their son, Caleb. Music came to all three of their kids naturally – it was song writing for Olivia, guitar for Sophia, but for Caleb…he was a natural at every instrument, so Austin and Ally had written him out a load of compositions for him to learn to keep him busy for a while.

"Turn the TV down!" Caleb cried excitedly. "I finished learning a piece!"

Everyone glanced up, and Ally muted the TV, earning herself a playful glare from Trish.

"Which piece did you finish, baby?" Ally asked, coming over to the piano. Austin smiled at her, and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Now and Forever," Caleb beamed. "Can I play it for you, Mom?"

Ally smiled softly at Austin. "Sure you can, baby."

Caleb began to play the all too familiar tune. Dez and Trish exchanged a grin as Austin began to sing to Ally.

_Whenever I'm weary_

_From the battles that raged in my head_

_You made sense of madness_

_When my sanity hangs by a thread_

_I lose my way, but still you_

_Seem to understand_

_Now & Forever,_

_I will be your man_

Austin got up, and pulled Ally into his arms. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. Dez also pulled Trish to her feet and they began to dance as Caleb continued to play the piano, and Austin continued to sing.

_Sometimes I just hold you_

_Too caught up in me to see_

_I'm holding a fortune_

_That Heaven has given to me_

_I'll try to show you_

_Each and every way I can_

_Now & Forever,_

_I will be your man_

The kids giggled and began to slow dance slowly with each other. Ally smiled as Austin pressed his forehead to hers and sang to her.

_Now I can rest my worries_

_And always be sure_

_That I won't be alone, anymore_

_If I'd only known you were there_

_All the time,_

_All this time._

As they came to the instrumental break, Austin spun Ally around and pulled her closer. She giggled, wondering really if it was actually possible for life to get any better than this. She had a beautiful home, an excellent job, three gorgeous children, close friends, close family, and an amazing husband, who wasn't just her husband, but he was also her best friend.

As she raised her eyes to meet Austin's, she knew in that moment he was thinking the same thing. He smiled, and leaned down so there were literally only centimetres between them.

_Until the day the ocean_

_Doesn't touch the sand_

_Now & Forever_

_I will be your man_

_Now & Forever,_

_I will be your man_

"I love you, Ally," he murmured.

"I love you, Austin," she smiled, and then sealed her words with a kiss.

THE END

* * *

**A/N: well, this is it, guys! Wow. I actually finished it. Thank you so much for everyone's lovely reviews! I'm really glad I picked this up again and finished it :) I'm sorry to those who asked me to continue, but I just really felt like the story was coming to an end anyway :') but again, thank you so much for all your support, and for the last time, please let me know what you think xx**


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